Tamil director Acharya Ravi has passed away on Tuesday in Madurai due to cardiac arrest. Ravi was a former associate of director Bala and he was getting treated at a hospital in Madurai after complaining of chest pain and despite the treatments, he had breathed his last on Tuesday - December 28. After learning about his demise, several fraternities have been paying tribute to him and expressing their condolences to his family. 

Ravi, a native of Kancheepuram in Tamil Nadu, has got prefixed with 'Acharya' after his directorial debut through the movie 'Acharya'. He rose to fame after directing Vijay in a successful movie 'Shahjahan', that hit the big screens in 2001. He also had worked as an associate for director Bala and some of his movies include En Swasa Katre and Dharmaselan. 

He was not active for several years and was admitted to Meenakshi Mission Hospital in Madurai after complaining of chest pain. He had died of a heart attack in the morning hours of Tuesday and the reports say that his last rites will be taking place in the evening hours of Tuesday. His film Shahjahan had given him more prominence and while he helmed the movie, it was bankrolled by RB Chaudhary, under the banner of Super Good Films. 

Shahjahan stars Vijay in the lead role, Richa Pallod in the female lead while late actor Vivek and Krishna had acted in supporting roles. The music was composed by Mani Sharma and the movie was released on November 14, 2001. The movie has received a decent reception and poured him a good welcome. He had worked as Bala's assistant in the movie 'Sethu'. However, his career has suffered a massive blow as he hasn't presented any major breakthrough and went inactive in the movie industry.