RS Shivaji, veteran Tamil actor and comedian, dies at 66

Veteran Tamil actor and comedian RS Shivaji died at the age of 66 in Chennai on Friday. He was last seen in the Yogi Babu-starrer ‘Luckyman’, which released on September 1 and is known for his work in the 2020 Suriya-starrer film ‘Soorarai Pottru’.

Born in Chennai in 1956, RS Shivaji predominantly worked in Tamil cinema and had frequent collaborations with Ulaganayagan Kamal Haasan and his production house Raaj Kamal Films International. The cause of his death has not been ascertained as yet.

Trade analyst Ramesh Bala took to his X (formerly Twitter) account to share the news and wrote, ”Popular Tamil Character/Comedy Actor #RSShivaji passed away in Chennai this morning..He acted in this Friday release #LuckyMan and has done several memorable roles including #ApoorvaSagodharargal etc May his soul RIP!”

Besides acting, Shivaji’s career skills extended to assistant direction, sound design, and line production for multiple Tamil films.

Having started his journey in the 1980s, Shivaji’s film career spans over four decades, and he is credited with delivering some remarkable performances in films, including ‘Apoorva Sagodharargal,’ ‘Kolamavu Kokila,’ and ‘Dharala Prabhu.’ Many from the industry took to social media platforms to offer condolences.

RS Shivaji belonged to a film family, and his brother Santhana Bharathi is also a well known actor and director.

RS Shivaji popular films

As an actor, Shivaji had primarily played comedy roles and regularly featured in Kamal Haasan’s films in the 1980s and 1990s. His “Saar! Neenga Engeyo Poiteenga, sir” dialogue from ‘Apoorva Sagodharargal’ (1989), which was dubbed in Hindi as ‘Appu Raja’, directed at Janagaraj, has been regularly parodied in later Tamil movies. He played important roles in ‘Kolamavu Kokila’ and ‘Dharala Prabhu’ as Nayanthara’s father and Vivek’s assistant.

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