Kochi: Anil Murali, who donned villain and character roles in more than 200 films in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu, died in Kochi on Thursday.
The 56-year-old breathed his last at a private hospital where he was undergoing treatment for liver ailment.
He made his debut in 1993 Malayalam movie, Kanyakumariyil Oru Kavitha, directed by Vinayan.
His Telugu foray happened in 2011 with Ragile Kasi. Two years later, in 2013, he made Tamil debut with 6.
He did memorable roles in Malayalam movies Lion, Baba Kalyani, Puthen Panam, Run Baby Run, Ayalum Njanum Thammil, KL 10, Iyobinte Pushthakam, Joseph and Uyare.
His last movie was Tovino Thomas-starrer Forensic where he played the role of Kurian, the antagonist's father.
He was also active in Television industry and was part of a few TV serials.
Anil Murali is survived by wife Suma, son Adithya and daughter Arundathi.
The actor last worked in Professor Dinkan, a Malayalam 3D fantasy film. Though the movie began shooting in 2017, it underwent several delays following the arrest of its lead actor Dileep and the demise of its director Ramachandra Babu in 2019.
Details regarding the funeral is awaited.
As the news of his death broke the Internet, many celebrities paid their condolences to the actor.
“Rest in peace Anil etta,” wrote the actors.
Tovino Thomas, who acted with him in the movie Forensic also yook to his social media page and mourned his death.
Actor Dileep too took to his Facebook page and shared that he was speechless at the news of his demise.
Actors Mammootty, Dulquer Salmaan, Kunchacko Boban, Indrajith, Siju Wilson, Poornima, Anu Sithara, Jayasurya too shared posts.