From the legendary icons to young actors, the entire Kollywood industry is mourning to the untimely demise of popular actor, director and producer Manobala, who passed away on Wednesday - May 3 at the age of 69 in Chennai due to liver ailments. The celebrities were taken aback by the news of his sudden demise and a sense of shock was greatly visible beyond the industry. 

Manobala, a veteran artist, had been a successful icon in Kollywood and was well known for his comic scenes. Besides directing 20 movies, he has also featured in hundreds of movies and his appearances before the camera were vital in buidling a successful career in the cinema. He was deeply respected and admired by the fellow celebrities and followers. 

As a protege of legendary director Bharathiraja, Manobala has inspired every artist in the industry and made fans through his hilarious comedies and humours. He was under treatment for heart and liver-related ailment for quite some time and he had also undergone angio treatment earlier this January. He had been under medical treatment at his residence in LV Prasad Road, Saligramam in Chennai for the past two weeks. 

Amid the medical treatment, Manobala breathed his last on Wednesday at his residence at the age of 69. Born in Thiruvaiyaru in the Thanjavur district in 1953, Manobala's birth name was Balachander and he began his career as an assistant director to Bharathiraja. Manobala made his directorial debut in 1982 through the movie "Agaya Gangai" in which Karthik and Suhashini played the lead roles. 

He has also directed the movie 'Oorkavalan' in which Superstar Rajinikanth played the lead role and some of his other movies include Vijayakanth starred 'Sirai Paravai', Prabhu starred 'Moodu Manthiram', Ramki starred 'Vetri Padigal' and Shivaji Ganesan starred 'Paarambariyam'. On the front of acting, Manobala has acted in several movies including 'Pithamagan', 'Perazhagan', 'Chandramukhi', 'Anniyan', 'Ghajini', 'Nanban', 'Kalakalappu', 'Thupakki', and 'Aranmanai'. 

Some of his recent movies include 'Naai Sekar', 'Yutha Satham', 'Oh My Dog', 'Don', and 'Naai Sekar Returns'. His recent movies 'Kondraal Paavam' and 'Ghosty' hit the theatres earlier this year. Manobala had been acting in actor Vijay starred 'Leo', directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj. The movie was on the floors and Manobala's sudden demise has shocked the movie team. 

Lokesh Kanagaraj, the last director Manobala had worked with, had paid tributes to the deceased actor. Taking to Twitter, Lokesh Kanagaraj wrote, "Heart broken! Rest in peace uncle." According to reports, Manobala was undergoing treatment at Apollo Hospital in Chennai and while he was recovering at his house for the past few months, he developed complications and died on Wednesday. 

His mortal remain was kept at his residence for the public to pay homage and his family said that the final rites will take place on Thursday. Hundreds of thousands of people have thronged his residence to pay their respects and dozens of prominent people from Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, Rajinikanth, and Kamal Haasan have expressed condolences to the bereaving family. 

Heart broken! Rest in peace uncle 🙏🏻 https://t.co/iwHDkJNv1h

— Lokesh Kanagaraj (@Dir_Lokesh) May 3, 2023