Tamil actor Raghuvaran passes away

Tamil actor Raghuvaran passes away

Veteran Tamil actor Raghuvaran, who carved a niche for himself in character roles, died on Wednesday after a brief illness.

Raghuvaran, 49, is survived by his wife Rohini, from whom he had separated, and a son. A heavy smoker, he was having health problems for quite sometime and was admitted to a private hospital about a week ago.

Raghuvaran, who had carved a niche for himself in roles that displayed sadism, had acted in more than 80 films in Tamil and Malayalam and had bagged many awards, including the Tamil Nadu government's 'Kalaimamani' (artiste of excellence) and best character artiste awards.

He had acted with top actors, including superstar Rajnikanth and Kamal Hassan. He had also figured in Hindi films Shiva , the first Hindi directorial venture of Ram Gopal Varma, and in Lal Badshah .

His portrayal of the father of a mentally-challenged daughter in Anjali , which was also dubbed in Hindi, earned him critical acclaim.