Ashwin, Sundar, Natarajan condole demise of actor Vivek

India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, all-rounder Washington Sundar and pacer T Natarajan condoled the demise of Tamil actor Vivek, who passed away on Saturday at SIMS hospital in Chennai. He was 59. "My heartfelt condolences to the family and fans of #ActorVivek !! I can't believe you are no more," Ashwin tweeted.

Taking to Twitter Sundar wrote, "Shocked beyond words to hear the passing away of @Actor_Vivek. You were an epitome of energy who made us all laugh so much and made our childhood so memorable. Your greatness will live through your trees you planted. My prayers and strength to your family. #RIPVivekSir." "Rest in peace vivek sir !! We miss u!! #RIPVivekSir," Natarajan tweeted.

The Padma Shri awardee actor was admitted to the intensive care unit of SIMS hospital in Vadapalani after he suffered from a heart attack on Friday. The actor reportedly fainted after expressing discomfort and his family rushed him to the hospital while he was in an unconscious state. He later underwent an emergency coronary angiogram followed by angioplasty.

The actor's condition remained critical and he was on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in the intensive care unit of the hospital. The renowned comedian Vivek was popularly called 'Chinna Kalaivanar' for his social reformative dialogues in Tamil cinema. He was bestowed with the Padma Shri Award, India's fourth-highest civilian award in 2009.

An environmentalist, in order to laud the green movement, Vivek started a movement to plant a billion trees across Tamil Nadu, he was advised to do so by the former late president APJ Abdul Kalam. Vivek, who was last seen in the Tamil remake of the Hindi film 'Vicky Donor' titled 'Dharala Prabhu', was also part of the director Shankar's upcoming film 'Indian 2', which stars Kamal Haasan in the lead role.