Popular Tamil actor, writer and director R. Manivannan died here Saturday following a cardiac arrest, said a family friend. He was 58. Manivannan passed away at his residence in Nesapakkam, the friend said. He is survived by his wife, son and a daughter. “I can’t believe he is no more. He was perfectly fine when I met him recently during the release of his 50th directorial film,” the friend said. Southern actor Siddharth took to Twitter to mourn the death of the multi-faceted talent. “The great Manivannan Sir is no more. Many lives in cinema are what they are today because of him. Writer, director, actor... gone too soon. RIP,” he posted. Manivannan’s 50th directorial outing was Tamil political-satire “Nagaraja Cholan MA, MLA”, which recently released to a lukewarm response. It was the sequel to highly successful Tamil film “Amaidhi Padai”. Other noted films directed by Manivannan include “Pudhu Manithan”, “Chinna Thambi Periya Thambi” and “Jalli Kattu”. It was as a character actor that Manivannan won the hearts of millions. Known for playing hero’s uncle or father in most films, Manivannan will be remembered for his roles in Tamil films such as “Mudhalvan”, “Sangamam” and “Ullathai Allitha”. He worked in over 400 Tamil films. He started his showbiz career as a writer. He penned dialogues for projects like “Tick Tick Tick” and “Kathal Ovium” Source : The Hindu
I am sad to hear of his untimely demise. He was one of the two great character actors who never believed in body language, voice modulation and lip sync that were considered the hallmark of great actors. Manivannan and VK Ramasamy broke all those traditions and proved that one could impress the audience through their sheer presence in the scene. Manivannan never believed in soul and that kind of stuff but I'll most certainly pray for his soul to rest in peace which deluded him in his active life. Sri