Veteran Tamil director, actor Manobala dies at 69

CHENNAI: Director-turned-actor and producer Manobala passed away today, according to a Daily Thanthi report. He was 69.

It is reported that the reason of his sudden demise is respiratory failure.

When DT Next last contacted him, he said that Sathurangavettai 2 might not see a release.

It is reported that the actor underwent angio-treatment earlier in January.

Manobala was known to be a livewire on the film sets he was a part of and always came up with spontaneous jokes off the camera and kept the sets lively.

However, in the last couple of years, he hasn't been the same due to his failing health. Manobala came to the sets, went about his work and quietly left for his vanity van.

His production venture Sathurangavettai 2 was slated for a release in January but didn't see the light of the day as distributors didn't show up in the last minute. In his latest and last interaction with us in less than 10 days, he returned the call and sounded low only to tell us that Sathurangavettai 2 might not release.

Manobala made his acting debut in ‘Puthiya Vaarpugal’ (1979) helmed by Bharathiraja. The actor was last seen in ‘Naai Sekar Returns’ directed by Suraj.