NE NEWS SERVICE
CHENNAI, MARCH 22
Legendary actor-screenwriter-director Visu has passed away on Sunday afternoon (March 22) due to prolonged illness. The 74-year-old was battling kidney related ailments for several years and has been undergoing dialysis.
His last media interaction was just a fortnight or so back when he vehemently opposed the remake of his ‘Netrikann’ movie that starred Superstar Rajinikanth and Lakshmi in the lead roles.
Visu started his career as a stage actor and writer and later assisted K. Balachander before making it as a screenwriter for several films including Rajini’s ‘Thillu Mullu’ and Kamal’s ‘Simla Special’. It was Balachander produced ‘Kudumbam Oru Kadhambam’ released in 1981 that catapulted Visu as an actor director and there was no looking back as he churned one family entertainer after another namely ‘Thirumathi Oru Vegumathi’, ‘Samsaram Adhu Minsaram’, ‘Penmani Aval Kanmani’ and others.
In the new millennium, Visu switched on to character roles in hundreds of films and then garnered a huge fan following as a television reality show host through ‘Arattai Arangam’.
Several film stars from Bollywood thronged his residence and paid homage. The legendary actor-director would be cremated on Monday afternoon at the Besant Nagar crematorium, family sources said.
