Actor-Director Prathap Pothen found dead in Chennai flat: Report

Famous actor-director Pratap Pothen was found dead at his flat. He was 69 years old, and his fans and friends from the industry are in shock.

Well-known multi-lingual actor Prathap Pothen died here following a cardiac arrest, his wife said on Friday. The director, who gave memorable hits in Tamil and Malayalam, was 70 and "passed away in his sleep" following a cardiac arrest, his wife Amala Pothen told PTI.

Pothen is survived by his wife and daughter. The senior actor-director was known for his unique dialogue delivery and has acted in a number of Tamil and Malayalam movies with top ranked stars including Kamal Haasan in "Varumaiyin Niram Sivappu", directed by the legendary K Balachander.

Tributes poured in for the actor, with Malayalam star Prithivraj Sukumaran among those expressing grief over the actor's passing away.

He has worked as an actor in more than 100 films in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi. He started his career with legendary filmmaker Bharathan in Malayalam cinema. He initially appeared in films including Aavaram, Thakara and Lorr, later gained popularity with Moodupani, Niram Sivappu, Panneer Pushpangal and Varumayin.

He started his directing career in 1980s, his first movie was Meendum Oru Kathal Kathai. He won Indira Gandhi Award for his debut film as director. He gained popularity with film like Vettri Vizhaa which starred Kamal Haasan and Oru Yathramozhi which featured Mohanlal. In total, he directed 12 films in Tamil and Malayalam. (With inputs from PTI)