Nagesh the veteran Comedian of Tamil Film Passed Away

I am not able to believe that Nagesh, the 75 year old veteran Kollywood comedian actor passed away on 31st Januaru 2009 at a Chennai City Hospital. He was suffering due to prolonged illness. The end came in the morning this morning at a City Hospital in Chennai after prolonged illness.

The Tamil fans may aware that Nagesh had acted in more than one thousand movies. Though he was known as the veteran comedian, his versatility in all kinds of characters was well noted by his fans. He was well noted as a character artist. His movies Major Chandra Kanth, Neerkumizhi, Chinnanj chiru ulagam depicted Nagesh as a character artist. He was equated with the Hollywood veteran comedian Jerry Lewis.

Gundu Rao (later he became Nagesh) was born on September 27, 1933 born at Cheyyur, Erode district, Tamil Nadu. He belong with Madhwa brahmin community. His mother tongue was Kannada.

He was very craze with cinema during his younger age. He left his house and came to Chennai. His early friends and roommates were Tamil Cinema lyricist Vaali (Rengarajan) and actor Srikanth (Vennira Aadai Fame). He also earned a job in Indian railways for a short duration.

During his short career time he happened to go to a drama enacted by his colleagues. He was fascinated by the event and he even convinced his colleagues for a chance in the drama troupe. When give a chance, he enacted the character suffering from severe stomach pain.

Fortunately M.G.Ramachandran (MGR), the popular hero of Tamil film was the chief guest of that evening. Nagesh’s action sequences attracted MGR and within no time Nagesh won his appreciation. This was a turning point for Nagesh and he continued to act in dramas.

His Career as a Veteran Comedian

Nagesh’s movie career commenced with the film produced by Mr. Balaji , a Tamil film producer. His comedy sequences became very popular in Tamil Nadu and even around South India. The veteran director Balachandar made use of Nagesh in different roles and this gave the actor a variety in his performance. His Server Sundaram (1964) role is being remebered even today. His comedy sequences in the movie ‘Kadhalikka Neramillai’ (1964) are still making people to burst with laughter .

The Tamil speaking community would not have forgotten his soliloquy scene and the scenes with Sivaji Ganesan in the movie ‘Thiruvilayadal’ (1965). His role as Vaithi, villainous comic pimp, in the movie ‘Thillana Moganambal’ was also noted by his fans.

Nagesh and MGR combination have produced excellent comedy sequences in the movies Vettaikkaran, Aayirathil Oruvan, Anbe Vaa, Enga Veettu Pillai and Ulagam Sutrum Vaaliban. I still consider Anbe Vaa (1966) as his master piece. His noted pairs were Manorama, Sachu, Madhavi, Kovai Sarala and few others. The ideal comedy pair Nagesh – Manorama sizzled the Tamil screen and the most popular movies of this pair i.e., 'Nenjil Nindraval', 'Galatta Kalayanam' and 'Anubhavi Raja Anubhavi' are still remembered. The dancing skill of this veteran actor was well appreciated. His solo and duet songs always brought out his best dance performances. His association with Kamala Hassan have brought excellent comedy sequences in movies such as Apoorva Sagotharargal (1989), ‘Michael Madana Kama Rajan’, 'Nammavar', 'Avvai Shanmugi', 'Panchathanthiram' , ‘Vasool Raja MBBS’and ‘Dasavatharam’ (Nagesh last film).

The End Came

On Saturday (31 Jan 2009) Nagesh complained of chest pain and he was rushed to the hospiatal and he passed away when he was at the hospital. He is survived by 3 sons, Anandh Babu, Ramesh Babu and Rajesh Babu.

Kollywood is Griefstriken

The Kollywood is terribly grief stricken. He was commanding respect from the film fraternity. Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Kalaignar Karunanidhi has expressed his condolences over the death of Nagesh. The leading film actors and actresses paid their last respect to the veteran actor Nagesh since from noon. The list includes Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Manorama, S.S.Rajendran, Delhi Ganesh, K.S.Ravikumar, Kovai Sarala, K.Balachander, Bharathiraja, Vasanth, Suriya, Vivek, S.Ve.Sekar, Y.G.Mahendran, Mohan, Rajesh, Santhana Bharathi, Goundamani, Murali and many others.