M K Muthu, Karunanidhi’s son and actor, passes away at 77

Chennai: M K Muthu, the eldest son of the late DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi, who was thrust into the world of Tamil cinema to counter the influence of matinee idol M G Ramachandran but could never made his mark as an actor, has died at the age of 77.

Muthu was born to Karunanidhi and his first wife, Padmavathi, in Thirukuvalai, Nagapattinam district, in 1948. Padmavathi died at the age of 20, soon after giving birth to Muthu, due to accelerated tuberculosis. Following her death, Karunanidhi married Dayalu Ammal, who is the mother of four children – M K Alagiri, M K Stalin, Selvi, and M K Tamilarasu.

Muthu had been unwell for the past two decades and was rarely seen in public. He breathed his last at his residence on East Coast Road on Saturday morning. He is survived by his daughter, Thenmozhi, who is married to C K Ranganathan, Managing Director of FMCG major CavinKare.

Initially projected as the political heir of Karunanidhi, who succeeded DMK founder C N Annadurai as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and took complete control of the DMK, Muthu was introduced to films in the 1970s.

It was an open secret that Karunanidhi, who felt insecure and threatened by the popularity of MGR and his meteoric rise within the DMK, introduced Muthu to cinema to counter the influence of the AIADMK founder.

Making his debut in 1972—the year MGR launched AIADMK after being expelled from the DMK—through the film Pillaiyo Pillai, Muthu hoped to make a mark in Tamil cinema. Despite his initial success, Muthu could never make it big in cinema and bid adieu to tinsel town after acting in half a dozen movies.

Muthu was always a problem child for Karunanidhi, who almost disowned him at one point after the former fell prey to alcoholism. However, father and son patched up in 2009 after Muthu fell ill. Muthu had also embarrassed Karunanidhi by joining the AIADMK, but his political career too never took off.