Actor Vivekh passes away: At the age of 59

Actor Vivekh who suffered a massive heart attack on Friday, died early Saturday morning (4:35 a.m.), according to hospital sources. He was 59.

He was taken to SIMS hospital in Vadapalani on Friday morning, after he collapsed at home. He was revived and was hooked up to an ECMO on Friday.

Dr. Raju Sivaswamy, Vice President, MEdical Services, SIMS, said, Vivekh had been put on ionotropic support, to help the heart beat.But from about 2 a.m. on Saturday, his health began to decline, and the blood pressure would not hold. " Resuscitation itself, after he landed in the hospital, took about 45 minutes. There is a condition called reperfusion injury that might occur after this procedure, and causes damage to tissues, when the blood returns to the organ. He could not survive this injury," he said.

Celebrities Condolences

Rajinikanth: Deeply saddened by the demise of my close friend, 'Chinna Kalaivanar' and activist Vivekh. Can't forget my association with him during the shooting of "Shivaji". "My deepest condolences to his family. Let his atma attain peace!", Mr. Rajinikanth tweeted.

Actor Kamal Haasan: Vivekh was someone who didn't think that his duty as an actor ended with just acting in movies. He wanted to do something for the society and did it too. It is a great loss for Tamil society.

Actor Prabhu: "I have lost a friend and a brother. We have acted together in many films, particularly, Budget Padmanabhan and Middle Class Madhavan…He believed in propagating social messages through comedy."

Director T. Rajendhar during a condeolence message said actor Vivekh was someone who could made people laugh and think: "Though he hasn't directly worked in my film, he has worked my son, Silambarasan and I have also interacted with him ever since he started working with late filmmaker K. Balachandar in movies. Everybody knows him as an actor, but he was also a musician. He used to speak about the music in my film appreciatively. After N.S. Krishnan, actor Vivekh was someone who could make people laugh and think," he said.

A.R. Rahman: "Can’t believe you’ve left us ..May you rest in peace ..you’ve entertained us for decades ..your legacy will stay with us".