By Staff Reporter
Veteran south Indian actor Rajesh Williams, mononymously referred to as Rajesh, died on May 29, at a private hospital in Chennai. He was 75.
The actor suffered a breathing difficulty in the wee hours, when he was rushed to the hospital, his family said. In a career lasting over five decades and nearly 150 films, Rajesh has acted in Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu productions.
The celebrated director K Balachander, credited with nurturing the acting careers of icons such as Kamal Haasan, Rajinikanth, Sridevi, Jayaprada and Prakash Raj, introduced Rajesh to cinema.
Some of the popular movies Rajesh starred in include 1981’s Andha 7 Naatkal (“those seven days”, remade in Hindi as Woh Saat Din), the 1974 cult classic Aval oru thodarkathai (she is a novel), Payanangal Mudivathillai (never-ending journeys), the celebrated political biopic of 1997 Iruvar (the duo), Ramana and Saamy (2001). Although he started his career as the lead actor, he went on to do supporting roles with aplomb.
Rajesh last appeared on screen in the Vijay Sethupathi–Katrina Kaif film Merry Christmas.
Actor Rajnikanth, an associate of Rajesh, expressed his condolences.
“The news of the untimely death of my close friend, actor Rajesh, is deeply shocking to me. It causes immense emotional pain. A wonderful human being, may his soul rest in peace. My heartfelt condolences to his family and friends,” the extremely popular actor wrote in Tamil on X (formerly Twitter).
Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin visited the late actor’s house and paid his last respects. Stalin, India Today reported, condoled with the actor’s family members.
The funeral is expected to take place once the actor’s daughter arrives from the US, the outlet said.
Actor-producer and politician Radikaa Sarathkumar, who had worked with Rajesh in many films and tele-serials, too expressed her condolences.
Rajesh was also a voice artist, dubbing for the Malayalam actor Murali in the Tamil rom-com Dum Dum Dum (2001) and for Nedumudi Venu in Poi Solla Porom (we’re going to lie), the Tamil remake of the Bollywood comedy drama Khosla ka ghosla.
The actor is survived by two children—a son and a daughter. The acclaimed Tamil filmmaker Mahendran, who helmed the cult classics Mullum Malarum (the thorn and the flower), Uthiripookal (loose flowers) and Johnny, is Rajesh’s cousin.
Rajesh was born on December 20, 1949, in the south Indian town of Mannargudi to Williams Nattar and Lily Grace Mankondar. He worked as a school teacher in Chennai before entering cinema.
