Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK stalwart M. Karunanidhi is no more, Kauvery Hospital announced on Tuesday evening. He was admitted to the hospital on July 28 and his condition worsened. The hospital statement read, "With deep anguish, we announce the demise of our beloved Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi at 6.20 p.m."
Other than being a great politician, Karunanidhi was an artist who forayed into many fields in his life. He is the author of a number of books, including Romapuri Pandian, Thirukkural Urai, Thanpandi Singam, Vellikizhamai and Ponnar Shankar among others. Saddened by the news of his demise, all theatres have cancelled movie shows in Tamil Nadu.
Ramesh Bala took to Twitter to share the news. He shared that not only are the movie shows cancelled but Tamil Nadu Government has announced holiday for Govt Offices and Educational Institutions in the state tomorrow.
M Karunanidhi also fondly known as Kalaignar (An Artist) began his career as a screenwriter in the Tamil film industry in 1947 with Rajakumari which was bankrolled by a Coimbatore based Jupiter Pictures. It featured M.G. Ramachandran in the lead role. During those times, Ramachandran and Karunanidhi shared great rapport before turning into rivals in later years of politics.