Farewell Vivekh: Veteran Tamil comedian no more

Actor Vivekh known for his comical roles in Tamil movies passed away at the age 59 due to cardiac arrest at  4:35 AM on Saturday (April 17).

He reportedly fainted while he was talking with his family and was later rushed to the SIMS hospital in Vadapalani, Chennai on April 16.

The actor was admitted in the ICU as his condition was serious. He has now been placed on ECMO machine, heart-lung by-pass machine that pumps and oxygenates a patient’s blood outside the body.

Doctors said that Vivekh had a 100% blockage in the LAD (left anterior descending artery) vessel which led to a massive cardiac arrest.

Actor Vivekh was introduced to cinema by the late ace film director K. Balachandar with his first appearance on screen in the film Manathil Uruthi Vendum. He established himself as a lead comedian in the 90s with many of his comedy in movies like Run, Dhool, Middle Class Madhavan, Saamy, Anniyan, Parthiban Kanavu, Perazhagan becoming timeless. He evolved his own brand of comedy by infusing social messages that made people think.

Actor Vivekh has been an ardent follower of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. Under his guidance, he launched project ‘Green Kalam’ with a mission to plan one crore trees. He was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2009.

He is survived by his wife and 2 daughters.