Tamil actor and comedian RS Shivaji dies at age 66

In addition to his acting career, Shivaji's expertise encompassed roles in assistant direction, sound design, and line production for various Tamil films.

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

Born in Chennai in 1956 to actor and producer M.R. Santhanam, 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.

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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.

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

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.