The funeral of legendary Malayalam actor Nedumudi Venu, who passed away at a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram on October 11, Monday, was held with full police honours at the government-run electric crematorium, Shantikavadom, of Thycaud, in the state capital on Tuesday. His last rites were done by his son Unni Gopal. Apart from family members, a huge crowd was present at the crematorium to pay respects to one of the best actors in the Malayalam film industry ever.
Kerala police gave full police honours to the veteran actor prior to his funeral.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, various ministers, political leaders, social and cultural personalities and hundreds of people paid their last respects to the veteran actor when his body was kept at the Ayyankali hall before the funeral.
At the Ayyankali Hall, a team of musicians led by Kavalam Sreekumar sang various folk songs as a tribute to the actor.
Top actors Mammootty and Mohanlal had yesterday visited Venu's house and paid their last respects.
Having recovered from COVID-19, Venu, 73, had been unwell for quite some time and was admitted to a private hospital here after he complained of uneasiness.
Shifted to the ICU, his condition worsened on Sunday despite efforts by doctors. He died on Monday afternoon.
Kesavan Venugopal, known as Nedumudi Venu is his stage name, after the village in Kuttanad he hailed from. Nedumudi, started his career in theatre, later forayed into films. He has acted in over 500 films, predominantly in Malayalam and a few notable ones in Tamil. He is the winner of three National Film Awards and six Kerala State Film Awards. His unique style of acting and talent made him one of the finest actors in Indian cinema.
PTI Inputs