Singer Manikka Vinayagam Passes Away Aged 73

Renowned Tamil singer and actor Manikka Vinayagam breathed his last on Sunday (December 26) reportedly due to age-related illness. He was the youngest son of Natacharya Padmashri Vazhuvoor B Ramaiah Pillai and nephew of singer CS Jayaraman. He was 73.

A gifted singer, Vinayagan, sang more than 800 songs in Tamil and other south Indian languages and even acted in various films. He made his debut as a playback singer with the song 'Kannukulle' (Dhill-2001) composed by renowned music composer Vidyasagar. A few of his best renditions include 'Theradi Veethiyil'(Run), 'Koduva Meesai' (Dhool), 'Vidai Kodu (Kannathil Muthamittal), 'Pattu Pattu' (Shankar Dada MBBS), 'Kokku Para Para' (Chandramukhi) and 'America Endralum' (Santhosh Subramaniam). He has also crooned close to 15000 devotional, folk and Carnatic music songs.

Manikka Vinayagam forayed into acting with the 2003 film Thiruda Thirudi starring Dhanush and Chaya Singh in the lead roles. He played the role of Dhanush's father in the film. He was also a part of films like Giri (2004), Thimiru (2006), Bose (2004), Vettaikaran (2009), Santosh Subramaniam (2008) Yuddham Sei (2011) and many others.

As per reports, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin will be attending the funeral on Monday. Several celebrities from the film fraternity and fans expressed their condolences through social media.