Veteran Kollywood actor and director Pratap Pothen is no more. He died at his Chennai residence earlier today. He was 69 and passed away due to cardiac arrest.

A multi-lingual performer, Pothen worked in multiple languages: Tamil, Malayalam, and Hindi film industries welcomed him with both hands. Old-timers remember Pothen for his memorable performance in the film 'Akali Rajyam', in which he played Kamal Haasan's friend.

Also a renowned scriptwriter, director and producer, Pothen knew the art of extracting and enacting emotions. As a director, he made mostly Tamil movies.

'Aavaram' in 1978 was his first, and it was a Malayalam movie. In 1979, he won the Filmfare Award in the Best Actor category for his performance in the film 'Thakara' for the first time. Many awards and laurels followed.

Rich tributes are pouring in from all quarters. "Pratap Pothen, thanks for films like 'Vetri Vizha', 'My Dear Marthandan' as director. You were one of the earliest 'urban, suave, English-speaking dude' in Tamil films. It is a cliched role now, but you made it yours in movies like 'Panneer Pushpangal', 'Nenjathai Killadhe'," wrote columnist K Balakumar in his tweet.