Tamil actor Vinu Chakravarthy, who introduced Silk Smitha to films, is no more

Mumbai: Veteran Tamil actor-scriptwriter, Vinu Chakravarthy passed away in Chennai on Friday after prolonged illness. He introduced iconic actress Silk Smitha to the silver screen in the 1980 movie 'Vandichakkaram'. He was 71 and is survived by his wife, son and a daughter.

"He had a paralytic attack some time back and for the last two days he had respiratory problems. He passed away today," Chakravarthy's grandson V Adi Shankar told PTI.

Chakravarthy's son is expected to arrive from London tomorrow and the funeral is likely to take place in the evening, family sources said.

Well known for his unique stentorian voice and trade mark pauses in dialogue delivery, Chakravarthy has acted in over 1,000 Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Badaga and Malayalam languages films playing villain, comic roles and supporting characters.

He has won several awards and he popularised the character of Nattamai (village headman) in Tamil movies.

His work as a scriptwriter in 'Vandichakkaram' (1980) and 'Rosapoo Ravikkaikari' were acclaimed.

He has acted with all top actors, including Rajinikanth, and Kamal Haasan and his notable Tamil films include, 'Guru Sishyan', 'Thambikku Endha Ooru', 'Manithan', 'Gopurangal Saivathillai'.

Chakravarthy had spotted Smitha's talent after conversing with her casually in 1979 when preparatory work was afoot for the movie 'Vandi Chakkaram'.

While Tamil film Muni was his 1000th movie, his last movie was 'Shirdi Sai Baba' that was released last year.

Condoling his death, Rajinikanth tweeted "RIP Vinu Chakravarthi... my condolences to the family."

A host of others, including actor turner politician Vijayakanth and Nadigar Sangam, condoled his death.