Veteran
actor
Nagesh
passed
away
this
morning
at
a
City
Hospital
in
Chennai
after
prolonged
illness.
He
was
75.
Nagesh
(Born
on
September
27,
1933)
was
a
veteran
Indian
comedian
actor
in
Kollywood
who
had
acted
in
more
than
1000
films.
He
was
more
than
a
comedian
and
showed
his
versatility
in
different
kind
of
roles
with
ease
and
professional
approach.
As
a
character
artiste,
he
moved
the
viewers
to
tears
with
his
sensitive
performance
in
films
like
Neer
Kumizhi,
Yarukkaga
Azhuthan
and
Edhir
Neechal.
Born
as
Gunddu
Rao,
Nagesh
was
born
to
Kannada
speaking
Brahmin
Madhwa
parents.
He
walked
out
of
his
house
telling
his
parents
that
he
would
be
back
only
after
establishing
himself
in
some
career.
In
Chennai,
he
stayed
in
a
one-room
bed-sit
at
West
Mambalam
(then
a
remote
area)
with
lyricist
Vaali
and
veteran
actor
Srikanth.
He
found
a
small
time
job
in
the
Railways
but
that
didn't
satisfy
him.
One
day,
he
saw
a
Tamil
play
'Kambar
Ramayanam'
enacted
by
his
colleagues
and
felt
that
he
could
do
a
good
job.
He
persuaded
the
secretary
of
the
Railways
cultural
association
to
give
him
the
role
of
a
man
suffering
from
stomach
pain.
MGR,
then
chief
guest,
seeing
this
play
praised
Nagesh
for
his
performance
in
his
speech.
From
then
onwards,
Nagesh
played
small
roles
in
various
drama
troupes
and
kept
himself
busy.
Career
graph
It
was
producer
Balaji
who
spotted
him
and
gave
him
his
first
break
in
films.
The
most
memorable
performance
of
Nagesh
out
of
the
1000
odd
films
he
acted
in
was
his
role
in
Thiruvilayaadal,
in
which
he
spoke
a
soliloquy
that's
one
of
the
most
memorable
scenes
in
the
film.
In
the
film,
he
played
the
role
of
a
poet
falling
into
bad
time.
Directors
like
Sridhar
and
Balachander
brought
out
the
acting
talents
in
Nagesh.
In
Kathalika
Neramillai,
Nagesh
narrated
a
story
to
Baliah
and
the
way
it
was
narrated
brought
down
the
theatres.
The
movie
Server
Sundaram
had
Nagesh
in
the
role
of
a
restaurant
waiter
who
later
became
a
successful
movie
actor;
case
of
life
imitating
art
and
art
imitating
life
for
this
great
comedian.
With
MGR...
His
close
friendship
with
legendary
superstar
MGR
was
well
known
to
the
Tamil
fraternity.
MGR
gave
chances
with
good
payment
to
Nagesh
in
almost
all
his
films.
His
films
with
MGR
like
Vettaikkaran,
Aayirathil
Oruvan,
Anbe
Vaa,
Enga
Veettu
Pillai
and
Ulagam
Sutrum
Vaaliban
are
still
considered
as
masterpieces.
Yet
another
memorable
performance
of
Nagesh
was
as
the
villainous
comic
pimp
in
Thillana
Mohannambal
starring
Sivaji
and
Padmini.
His
professional
connection
with
Kamal
Hassan
is
also
well
known.
He
was
one
of
the
four
bad
guys
in
Apoorva
Sagodharargal
(1989),
where
Kamal
played
three
characters.
In
Michael
Madana
Kama
Rajan
(1990),
where
Kamal
played
four
characters,
Nagesh
showed
his
funny
side
in
his
impeccable
style.
His
character
of
Avinashi
uttering
rib
tickling
dialogues
and
great
punchlines
was
an
example
of
his
everlasting
brilliance.
Later,
he
played
a
dead
man
in
Magalir
Mattum
(1993)
produced
by
Kamal
Hassan.
His
son
Anand
Babu
known
for
his
dancing
skills
made
an
impressive
start
as
a
hero
but
soon
lost
out
and
he
is
now
said
to
be
hitting
the
bottle.
For
having
married
a
Christian,
Nagesh
was
kept
out
of
his
family.
He
exhibited
glimpses
of
the
old
Nagesh
in
the
rare
film
appearances
he
made
but
in
his
personal
life,
he
remained
a
loner.
His
last
appearance
was
in
Kamal's
Dasavatharam,
in
which
he
played
a
goodhearted
Muslim.
Oneindia.in
deeply
condoles
the
demise
of
Nagesh,
one
of
the
greatest
actors
of
this
era!