Crazy Mohan, Tamil Comic Legend, Dies At 67

A file photo of Crazy Mohan.

Tamil playwright, comedian and actor Crazy Mohan died in Chennai's Kauvery Hospital on Monday after a cardiac arrest. He was 67. Born Mohan Rangachari, Crazy Mohan adopted his stage name in honour of his popular play Crazy Thieves Of Palavakkam. An engineer by qualification, Crazy Mohan launched his theatre group 'Crazy Creations' in 1979. With his younger brother Balaji, he wrote and appeared in several plays. Crazy Mohan also appeared in several comic parts in Tamil films, many of them starring Kamal Haasan.

On Twitter, celebrities paid emotional tributes to Crazy Mohan. Kamal Haasan, who starred in films such as Michael Madana Kama Rajan, Sathi Leelavathi, Kaadhala Kaadhala and Apoorva Sagodharargal with Crazy Mohan, released a statement in Tamil. Crazy Mohan also wrote the dialogues for and appeared in 1996's Indian, one of the most notable films in Kamal Haasan's body of work.

pic.twitter.com/pd0e1lDu0m

— Kamal Haasan (@ikamalhaasan) June 10, 2019

'A genius has left behind a legacy,' tweeted actor-politician Khushbu Sundar; Siddharth tweeted, "There will never be another like him"; "Will miss him," tweeted Radhikaa Sarathkumar; actor Prasanna recalled how Crazy Mohan 'added value' to films; blogger Ramesh Srivatsa called him "the King of Twitter even before Twitter was invented."

News just coming in about the demise of #CrazyMohan .. they could not revive him very unfortunately.. a genius has left behind a legacy.. deepest condolences to his family.. may his soul rest in peace..

— KhushbuSundar (@khushsundar) June 10, 2019

#CrazyMohan sir is no more. What a sad day for cinema, theatre, laughter and life. There will never be another like him. Prayers for his soul.Deepest condolences to the family. He was a huge part of our collective #Tamil consciousness and our ability to make or laugh at a joke.

— Siddharth (@Actor_Siddharth) June 10, 2019

Will miss him #CrazyMohan , very sad.

— Radikaa Sarathkumar (@realradikaa) June 10, 2019

Even few days back when I met my friend dir @rs_prasanna we were talking about #CrazyMohan sir and how he added value to our film #KSS his writings and performances have always been top notch. His comedy sense non stop. A fantastic human. RIP Crazy sir. Will miss u

— Prasanna (@Prasanna_actor) June 10, 2019

RIP #CrazyMohan
The master of one-liners, wordplay, puns and PJs.
In other words, the King of Twitter even before Twitter was invented.

— Ramesh Srivats (@rameshsrivats) June 10, 2019

Born in 1952, 'Crazy' was a nom de plume that Mohan Rangachari acquired after 1976 play Crazy Thieves in Palavakkam (which subsequently was run on television as a series too) became a runaway hit. It set the tone for the rest of his career, as Crazy Mohan and his brother Balaji wrote and starred in a number of plays of similar tone and tenor, and always had their audience in splits.

Crazy Mohan graduated from College of Engineering, Guindy, in the 1970s. But his calling was elsewhere and 30-odd plays followed after he started Crazy Creations in 1979. His very first film was K Balachander's Poikkal Kudhirai, for which he wrote the dialogues. Crazy Mohan was awarded the title 'Kalaimamani' by the government of Tamil Nadu for his contribution to the arts and literature.

It's been a day of losses for stage and cinema. Hours before Crazy Mohan's death in Chennai, legendary playwright, actor and intellectual Girish Karnad died in Bengaluru at the age of 81.