Veteran Malayalam actor Geetha Salam who has acted in several super hit films such as Gramaphone, Kochi Rajavu, Jalolsavam etc passed away in Alappuzha on Wednesday. He was 73.

Born as Abdul Salam, the actor, who is from Memanna near Occitan in Kollam had been undergoing treatment for respiratory illness. According to reports, he passed away at the Alappuzha Government Medical College around 3:30pm. His funeral and subsequent burial will be held at a mosque in Ochira, his native place, on Thursday.

He started off as a government servant, and then quit the job to pursue a career in theatre. This is when he adopted  his stage name, Geetha Salam. Over the years, he had acted in 88 Malayalam films and several plays. He has also featured in some television shows in Malayalam.

Geetha Salam began his film career in the year 1987 with the film Mani Koya Kuruppu. He went on to win the Kerala State Award for best actor for the play Abhimanam performed in Thiruvananthapuram in which he played the character Usman kutti Ustaad. In 2010, he also won the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award.

Salam is survived by wife Rehmath Beevi and daughter Shaheera and Shan.