Prithviraj Sukumaran shared a picture of Pratap Pothen. (courtesy: PrithviOfficial)
Veteran actor Pratap Pothen died in Chennai at the age of 70. The South star died following a cardiac arrest, his wife Amala Pothen told news agency PTI. The actor, who gave memorable hits in the Tamil and Malayalam film industries, "passed away in his sleep," his wife said. The filmmaker worked in about 100 films in his career. He marked his debut in 1978 with the Malayalam film, Aaravam and later worked with Kamal Haasan in Varumaiyin Niram Sivappu, directed by the legendary K Balachander. Pratap Pothen directed the hit film Vetri Vizha starring Kamal Haasan, among his other directorial ventures.
His films in Tamil include Meendum Oru Kathal Kathai, Moodupani and Panneer Pushpangal and he did a myriad of roles including those with negative shades during his career.
Prithviraj Sukumaran paid tribute and tweeted: "Rest in peace uncle! I will miss you," and added a heartbreak emoji.
Khushbu Sundar paid condolences to the family on Twitter: "So disheartened. Heartbreaking. Lost a very good friend, a wonderful human being, a great technician n actor n funniest guy ever, Pratap Pothen this morning. Had the privilege to work with him in few films. Hope you are finally in peace PP. You will be missed terribly," with the hashtag #RIP.
Pratap Pothen had featured last in the film, CBI5 The Brain.
(With inputs from PTI)