Well known Malayalam actor Venu, popularly known as Nedumudi Venu, passed away at the age of 73 in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday.
Venu, who acted in around 500 films, recently was infected with Covid-19 and was also suffering from liver-related ailments.
He died at a private hospital this afternoon.
Venu, a native of the Alappuzha district in Kerala, entered into acting through stage plays from the college days itself.
He entered the film industry in 1978 and played prominent roles including that of a lead character, villain as well as a comedian.
While 'Thampu' was his first film, his performance in 'Aaravam' in 1978 was highly appreciated.
He also performed in a couple of films that are currently under production and others that are pending release due to Covid-19.
He performed in many Tamil films and 'Chaurahen', an Indian drama film in English.
He won the national film award thrice and Kerala state film awards six times apart from a large number of other known film awards. He had also served as a journalist and a drama teacher before being active in films.
Venu is survived by his wife Suseela and two sons.
Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan condoled Venu's demise. Venu's death is an irrecoverable loss to the state cultural sector, said the Chief Minister.
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