Raghavan, the sly villain from Thaazhvaaram film no more; Salim Ghouse dies at 70

Mumbai: Veteran actor Salim Ghouse, who stunned Malayali audience with his exemplary performance as the villainous 'Raghavan' in Malayalam movie 'Thaazhvaaram', is no more. The 1990 movie directed by Bharatan is quoted as one of the classics in Malayalam due to the stellar performances by Mohanlal and Ghouse.

Ghouse, known for his performances in TV shows like "Bharat Ek Khoj" as well as films such as "Sardari Begum" and "Soldier", died Thursday morning following a cardiac arrest. He was 70.

According to a source close to the actor's family, Ghouse complained of chest pain on Wednesday night and was rushed to the city-based Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital.

"We took him to the hospital as he was not feeling well. He passed away this morning," the family member said.

Ghouse made his feature film debut in an unnamed role of a student in 1978's "Swarg Narak". He later starred in films such as Shyam Benegal's "Manthan", "Kalyug", "Sardari Begum", as well as Mahesh Bhatt's "Saaransh" and "Mohan Joshi Hazir Ho!" by Saeed Akhtar Mirza.

As an actor, he received wide acclaim with the 1987 popular TV show "Subah".

An FTII graduate, Ghouse also featured in Benegal's "Bharat Ek Khoj", in which he played the roles of Rama, Krishna, and Tipu Sultan over the many episode-run of the acclaimed 1988 TV series.

In the late 1980s, Ghouse ventured into Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam cinema and starred in "Vettri Vizhaa", "Thazhvaram", "Mugguru Monagallu" and Mani Ratnam's "Thiruda Thiruda".

The actor appeared in English films such as "The Deceivers" and "The Perfect Murder", both of which were released in 1988. In the 1990s and 2000s, he played supporting parts in Hindi films such as "Koyla", "Soldier, "Badal", and "Aks".

Benegal's 2010 film "Well Done Abba" marked one of his last Hindi film appearances.

Ghouse was also a voice artiste who dubbed in Hindi for English titles such as Disney's animated classic "The Lion King" (1995), in which he voiced the character of Scar, and the historical actioner "300", where he dubbed for Gerard Butler's King Leonidas.