Veteran Tamil actor Srikanth passes away at 82

Chennai, Oct 12: Veteran Tamil actor Srikanth passed away on Tuesday. He was aged 82.

The news was formally announced by Nadigar Sangam (actors guild).

An employee in the American Consulate, Srikanth quit his job to pursue his passion to work in the film industry. He was spotted by CV Sridhar who cast him in Vennira Aadai.

He was credited as the first actor to play the on-screen hero opposite late J Jayalalithaa, former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, in Vennira Aadai way back in 1965. Bama Vijayan, Poova Thalaiya, Kasethan Kadavulada were some of his notable movies.

Srikanth worked as a hero in over 50 movies out of 200+ movies that he acted in a career spanning over four decades. Except for MG Ramachandran, he acted with legends like Sivaji Ganesan, R Muthuraman, Sivakumar, Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan among others.

It has to be noted that he played the main antagonist in Bhairavi, the first movie of Tamil superstar Rajinikanth as a hero. His performance had garnered rave reviews.

The actor had worked with big filmmakers of his times, including AC Thirulogachander, K Balachander, Muktha Srinivasan and A Bhimsingh.