Hero yesterday, actor today

In fact, he was the first actor in Tamil to charge an eight-figure salary.

Be it the sets of his films or the press meets he attended, crowds flocked to open his car door as the one to open it will get a lump some reward of Rs 500 (equivalent to Rs 5000 today), straight out of his pocket.

While he was blessed by many for his benevolent rather lavish nature it was the same nature that pushed him down the ladder in Kollywood until there was no point of return.

He got along with people who introduced him to several spiteful activities and made him lose all his hard-earned money in no time. He also trusted people easily, who conned him into investing in lands in hill stations claiming barren lands to be farmhouses in return for the first copy of his blockbuster films.

The frustrated star realizing that his career has reached a dead-end stayed low for several years. His goodwill has kept him afloat all these years and a few filmmakers have been offering him minor roles in their movies today.