Veteran Tamil comedian and serial actor Nellai Siva passed away in Tirunelveli on Tuesday due to health issues. He was 69. Nellai Siva is known to have collaborated with several leading Tamil stars among whom include Kamal Haasan, 'Thalapathy' Vijay, 'Thala' Ajith, 'Chiyaan' Vikram, Dhanush, Silambarasan TR, Vishal and is known primarily among fans for his comedy roles. He has shared screen space alongside 'Vaigai Puyal' Vadivelu in many films and their most memorable partnership includes the 2008 film, Kannum Kannum, which had the infamous scene of a missing well. The film saw him play the role of a police inspector, who goes in search of a missing well based on a complaint raised by Vadivelu. 

After his debut in the 1985 blockbuster, Aan Paavam, Nellai Siva went on to land roles in several important big Tamil films among which include Tata Birla, Vetri Kodi Kattu, Run, Anbe Sivam, Saamy, Winner, Thirumalai, Thiruppachi, Anbe Aaruyire, Imsai Arasan 23rd Pulikecei, Oram Po, Kireedam, Padikkathavan, Thoranai, Kanthaswamy, Thamizh Padam, Papanasam, Miruthan, Anbanavan Asaradhavan Adangadhavan, including his last starring role in Trisha's recent OTT release, Paramapadham Vilayattu. Nellai Siva had also made a name for himself in television after he joined the cast of the hit Vijay TV serial, Pandian Stores, in which he plays a character named Kumaresan and was previously a part of the Sun TV show, Mama Maaple, starring Pandiarajan. 

2021 is turning out to be a terrible year for Tamil cinema fans as many popular names have passed away among whom are directors KV Anand and Thamira, comedians Vivek and Pandu, actor-singer TKS Natarajan and now Nellai Siva. Known for his strong Tirunelveli dialect, Nellai Siva garnered appreciation for his comedic timing on par with his contemporaries, especially with Vadivelu, which was evident by their chemistry in their scenes in films like Vetri Kodi Kattu, Kannum Kannum, Winner and Imsai Arasan 23rd Pulikecei.