Veteran Tamil actor Raghu Balaiah, popularly known as Junior Balaiah, died at his residence in Chennai on Thursday morning due to breathing issues. The 70-year-old actor was not keeping well for some time and was on bed rest.
Born on June 28, 1953, Raghu Balaiah was the son of the late legendary actor TS Balaiah. He made his acting debut in the movie called 'Melnattu Marumagal'.
In an illustrious career spanning four decades, Mr. Balaiah acted in several popular films, largely supporting roles, including 'Karagattkaran', 'Sundara Kandam', 'Winner', 'Pavithra', 'Mayabazaar 1995', 'Om Shanthi Om', 'Puli', and 'Saattai'. He played an important role in Ajith's 'Nerkonda Parvai', which is the official Tamil remake of 'Pink'.
Apart from films, he was also part of many Tamil TV serials like Radhika Sarathkumar's 'Chithi' and Bhanu Priya's 'Vazhkai' and 'Chinna Papa Periya Papa'. He was last seen in the 2021 film 'Yennanga Sir Unga Sattam.
After his death, several people from the Tamil film fraternity and his fans paid tributes to the actor.
Superstar Kamal Haasan took to X and wrote, "Junior Balaiah, son of legendary actor TS Balaiah, became my teenage friend. Just like his father, who started his career in theatre and flourished, he passed away today. My tribute to him. My heartfelt condolences to his family members."
Here are other tweets:
His last rites will be performed on Friday afternoon in Chennai.
