South indian actor Anil Murali, 56, died at a private hospital in Ernakulam on Thursday. He was under treatment for liver disease. The actor was mainly known for his villain roles. Anil had acted in more than 200 films. He had also acted in notable character roles. He was born in Thiruvananthapuram and is survived by his wife Suma, son Adithya and daughter Arundathi. His parents are Muraleedharan Nair and Sreekumariyamma.

Lion, Baba Kalyani, July 4, Annan Thambi, Manikkakallu, Thappana, Amen, Ramaleela, Puthen Panam, Double Barrel and Pokkiri Raja are some of his popular movies. He had also acted in more than 15 Tamil and Telugu films, and featured in the 2015 Tamil blockbuster Thani Oruvan.

Anil entered the film industry in 1993 with the movie Kanyakumariyil Oru Kavitha directed by Vinayan. His first prominent role was in Valkannadi, starring Kalabhavan Mani. He was also active in TV serials.  He was last seen in Tovino Thomas's Forensic, which was released in February this year. Professor Dinkan, which is yet to be released, will be his last film. The film is reportedly a 3D fantasy thriller.

"Heartfelt condolences for the death of Anil Murali. He acted well in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu movies in villain and character roles. His rough characters were ever memorable," Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said. Mammootty, Prithviraj, Nivin Pauly, Dulquer Salmaan, Tovino Thomas and many other actors have expressed their condolences on social media.

In April first week, Sasi Kalinga, another noted Malayalam actor, also passed away following liver ailments. He was 59 and died at a private hospital in Kozhikode. He was under treatment for many years. Actor Kalabhavam Mani also died due to liver disease. Though there were a few controversies over his death, the Central Bureau of Investigation had confirmed that it was his illness that had caused the death. He was found dead at an outhouse in Thrissur in 2016 March.