MUMBAI: Tamil actor Raghuvaran, who essayed varied roles, died at a private hospital this morning in Chennai of cardiac arrest.

The actor was 59 and is survived by his divorced wife and former actor Rohini and a son.

Raghuvaran, who had been suffering from diabetes and other complications, was rushed to a private hospital this morning, where he collapsed. His family members were at the bedside when the end came around 8:30 am.

The body was later shifted to his residence at T Nagar where the Tamil film world paid their last respects.

Nadigar Sangam president Sarathkumar, his wife Radhika, Satyaraj, Radha Ravi, Thalai Vasal Vijay, comedian Vivek and several others placed a wreath on the body and paid their homage.

Raghuvaran had acted in several Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Hindi films, and has been praised as a natural actor. His mortal remains would be consigned to flames this evening.

He became famous with his role as the protagonist of a Tamil soap opera Oru Manidhanin Kadhai, the story about a well-to-do man who becomes an alcoholic and faces the consequent difficulties.

Raghuvaran, who had taken a sabbatical from active films due to ill health, made a comeback last year in the film Sivapathigaram and later acted in a number of big films including Rajnikanth's blockbuster Sivaji - The Boss. His last films were Sila Nerangalil and Bheema, which were released recently.