Tamil Nadu government recently announced that actor Vivek will be laid to rest with full police honours as per a Indian Express report. 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.
He passed away on Saturday after suffering a cardiac arrest. The actor was hospitalised on Friday after a cardiac arrest. While there were reports of his health deteriorating after taking a jab of the coronavirus vaccine, the Tamil Nadu Health Department refuted the rumours in a press meet.The private hospital in Chennai, where Vivek, 59, was being treated, said he suffered “an acute coronary syndrome with cardiogenic shock. This is a separate cardiac event. It may not be due to Covid vaccination”.On Friday, the actor underwent “emergency coronary angiogram followed by angioplasty”, a medical bulletin said. But his condition stayed critical through the day. Several actors from the south film industry paid their last respects to the late actor. Producer Boney Kapoor took to Twitter to pay his last respects to Vivek. The filmmaker shared a photo of his wife and late actor Sridevi with Vivek and wrote, "My wife @sridevibkapoor was a big fan of actor Vivek she had got me hooked to his hilarious acts. Your presence and humour will be missed by all. I pray for strength to his family at this difficult time. #RIPVivek" Actor Keerthy Suresh paid tribute to actor Vivek in a long note. She wrote, "It is beyond belief that my absolute favourite comedian is no more with us. Unfortunately, I haven't had the opportunity to act with the legend, but will always remember those beautiful enriching conversations that I’ve had with him." She further added, "To the man who made his entire life about making everyone laugh. To the man who integrated moral values into his comedies like no one else could. To the social activist who led by example with his environmental and social initiatives, to the irreplaceable maverick comedian that Tamil cinema will forever miss, Mr Vivekanandan sir rest in peace. #RIPVivekSir."