Legendary actor Vivek passed away earlier this morning leaving the entire Tamil film industry and crores of Tamil people across the globe in a deep state of shock and sorrow.  The end reportedly came at 4.35 am at the SIIMS Hospital in Chennai where he was being treated in the ICU after suffering a massive heart attack on April 16th. According to doctors, the actor had a 100% blockage in the LAD (left anterior descending artery) vessel which led to the massive cardiac arrest.

 He was 59 and is survived by his wife Arul Selvi and two daughters Tejaswani and Amritha Nandhini.  He lost his son Prasanna aged 13 to dengue fever in 2015 which left him devastated.

Vivek known as Chinna Kalaivanar started his film career in K. Balachander's 'Manathil Urudhi Vendum' in 1987 and went on to star in over  220 films in a career spanning close to 35 years.   He has starred alongside most of the top stars of Kollywood including Rajinikanth, Vijayakanth, Sathyaraj, Prabhu, Karthik, Vijay, Ajith, Suriya, Vikram, Simbu and Dhanush.  He has also played the hero in critically acclaimed films 'Naanthaan Bala', Palakaatu Madhavan' and 'Vellai Pookkal'.

Vivek received the Padma Shri award by the Government of India for his contribution to cinema and has also won the Filmfare Awards apart from several other national and international awards.

As soon as his career took flight, Vivek became very active in social work and took inspiration from former Indian President APJ Abdul Kalam.  At the request of the late leader, he planted millions of trees all over the Tamil Nadu state and also initiated and presided over uncountable measures to turn the state into a green zone.

On the movie front, Vivek's last released film was the super hit 'Dharala Prabhu' costarring Harish Kalyan.  His upcoming films include 'Yaadhum Oore Yavarum Kelir' with Vijay Sethupathi in the lead and he also shot for a few scenes in Shankar's 'Indian 2' his first film with Kamal Haasan.

We at Indiaglitz extend our deepest condolences to Vivek's family, friends, and fans for the irreparable loss and we also salute his valuable contributions to Tamil cinema and for his continuous social services.