Thiruvananthapuram: Versatile Malayalam film actor Nedumudi Venu passed away on Monday. He was undergoing treatment at a private hospital here when the end came days after recovering from COVID-19.
He was 73.
The veteran actor reportedly developed uneasiness on Sunday morning and was rushed to the hospital.
The body was shifted to his residence in Kundamankadavu, Thiruvananthapuram.
It will be moved to the Mahatma Ayyankali Hall in Thiruvananthapuram from 10:30am to 12:30pm on Tuesday for public homage.
The cremation will be done with full state honours on Tuesday at 2pm at the Santhikavadam electric crematorium.
He had acted in more than 500 films, including a few Tamil films, in a career spanning four decades. The actor also featured in a 2017 English movie titled ‘Chaurahen’.
The Tamil projects comprised blockbusters such as Kamal Haasan's 'Indian' and Vikram's 'Anniyan'.
He had endeared himself to his fans and his colleagues with his jovial nature.
The exceptionally talented actor was the winner of three National Film awards and six Kerala state film awards.
He was also a talented Mridangam player and a folk singer.
Starting his career as a journalist, Nedumudi Venu has had no reason to look back after donning the grease paint for the first time in 1978, until then he was a popular theatre personality.
He began his career with theatre and later ventured into movies.
Nedumudi Venu debuted in Mollywood in 1978 with ace director G Aravindan's film 'Thambu'. The actor later went on to handle many versatile roles.
On the work front, Nedumudi Venu’s recent releases were two anthology films in Malayalam and Tamil. He was seen in ‘Aanum Pennum’ in Malayalam where he appeared in the ‘Rani’ segment of the anthology. ‘Rani’ was directed by Aashiq Abu and written by Unni R, and it featured Nedumudi Venu and Kaviyoor Ponnamma as an old couple.
He was part of 'Summer of 92', a Navarasa Anthology, which was directed by Priyadarshan.
His last film 'Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham', another by Priyadarshan, is yet to be released.
Nedumudi Venu is survived by wife TR Susheela and two sons, Unni and Kannan.