Tamil comedian Vadivel Balaji died on Thursday at the age of 45, film columnist Sreedhar Pillai announced on Twitter. Known for his work on the channel Vijay TV, Vadivel Balaji also appeared in films and was a mimicry artiste. "Vadivel Balaji, the Vijay TV fame comedy actor, passed away due to illness. RIP," tweeted Mr Pillai. The official handle of Vijay TV tweeted simply, "RIPVadivelBalaji." Trade analyst Ramesh Bala tweeted that the actor had suffered a heart attack two weeks ago. Tributes to Vadivel Balaji were shared on social media by actors Dhanush, Prasanna and Aishwarya Rajessh as well as many others. "Deeply saddened and disturbed by the sudden demise of a great talent," wrote Dhanush. "Shocking. So sad," tweeted Prasanna.
See the tweets here:
#VadivelBalaji , the Vijay TV fame comedy actor passed away due to illness. RIP pic.twitter.com/3TtNU2QUnt
— Sreedhar Pillai (@sri50) September 10, 2020
Popular TV actor #VadivelBalaji (45) passed away this morning in Chennai.
— Ramesh Bala (@rameshlaus) September 10, 2020
He suffered a heart attack 15 days ago..
Condolences to his near and dear ones.. #RIPVadivelBalaji pic.twitter.com/k7rInf03nU
#RIPVadivelBalaji pic.twitter.com/5D3hgsiimr
— Vijay Television (@vijaytelevision) September 10, 2020
Deeply saddened and disturbed by the sudden demise of a great talent, Vadivel Balaji. May his soul rest in peace. My condolences to his family.
— Dhanush (@dhanushkraja) September 10, 2020
Shocking!! So sad. RIP https://t.co/3HM0LkP45W
— Prasanna (@Prasanna_actor) September 10, 2020
RIP #Vadivelbalaji pic.twitter.com/7LYK3DHbFC
— aishwarya rajessh (@aishu_dil) September 10, 2020
DNA reports that Vadivel Balaji died in a government hospital in Chennai where he had been on ventilator support for the last few days. He was reportedly moved to the government hospital after first being admitted to a private facility. Vadivel Balaji is survived by his wife and two children.
Vadivel Balaji received his nickname after his hugely popular mimicry of well-known Tamil actor Vadivelu on TV shows. He was a veteran of shows such as Kalakapovathu Yaaru and Adha Edhu Idhu.
Vadivel Balaji, born in Madurai in 1975, made his film debut in the 1991 movie En Rasavin Manasile, starring Rajkiran and Meena in the lead roles. The cast also featured Vadivelu, after whom the late actor would later be named. Vadivel Balaji's film credits also include the 2018 hit Kolamavu Kokila, which starred Nayanthara in the lead role.
