Actor Daniel Balaji Passes Away At 48

It was reported late on Friday that actor Daniel Balaji passed away in a private hospital in Chennai. Cardiac arrest has been cited as the cause of the death. He was 48. 

A cousin of actor Murali, Balaji got his first break with the TV soap Chitthi, which made him popular as Daniel. He made his debut in 2002 with the film April Madhathil but he got his first remarkable role in the form of Gautham Vasudev Menon’s Kaakha Kaakha the next year. In the film, he played Srikanth, a police officer and a close friend of Suriya’s Anbuselvan. Balaji’s portrayal of the role was appreciated and he later went on to play the character in the film’s Telugu remake, Gharshana, as well. He followed up Kaakha Kaakha with two strong antagonist roles in Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu, reuniting with GVM, and Vetri Maaran’s Polladhavan, marking his first collaboration with the director. While he played Amudhan, the psychopathic serial killer facing off with Kamal Haasan in Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu (2006), he played Ravi, a goon from North Madras in Polladhavan (2007). He would later go on to collaborate with Vetri Maaran in Vada Chennai (2018), in what one could call his most popular role, that of Thambi, one gentle presence in this otherwise murky world of crime and violence.

In his nearly two-decade-long career, Balaji has been selective with his work. His other films include, Bairavaa (2017), Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada (2016), Ippadai Vellum (2017), Maayavan (2017), Gangs of Madras (2019), Bigil (2019), Anandam Vilayadum Veedu (2021) and Ariyavan (2023), which marked his final role in Tamil. Balaji also ventured into Malayalam, Kannada, and Telugu cinema, having done a handful of roles in each of these languages.