Thiruvananthapuram:
Veteran
Malayalam
actor
Thilakan
passed
away
at
a
private
hospital
here
early
Monday,
following
a
cardiac
arrest.
He
was
77.
Thilakan,
who
died
at
3:35
am
this
morning,
was
in
a
serious
condition
after
having
suffered
two
heart
attacks.
He
was
part
of
nearly
300
films,
most
of
them
in
Malayalam.
He
is
survived
by
two
sons
and
two
daughters.
Thilakan
had
been
struggling
ever
since
he
was
admitted
on
August
23.
He
also
suffered
from
an
attack
of
pneumonia.
Thilakan's
first
notable
presence
on
screen
was
in
Ulkadal
(1979)
directed
by
K
G
George.
He
was
one
of
the
most
talented
actors
in
Malayalam
cinema
and
was
recognised
with
various
awards.
Thilakan
bagged
the
national
award
for
best
supporting
actor
for
his
performance
in
Rithubhedangal
in
1988.
In
2007,
he
got
special
mention
from
the
national
jury
for
his
role
in
the
film
Ekantham.
Thilakan
also
won
the
state
government's
best
actor
award
twice
and
the
best
supporting
award
six
times.