Noted Malayalam actor Rajan P Dev died at a private hospital in Kochi on Wednesday morning following liver problems. He was 58 and is survived by his wife, son and a daughter.
Dev had been admitted to the Lakeshore hospital four days back after he vomitted blood at his residence at Angamally in Ernakulam district, family sources said.
Dev began his career as a stage artiste in the 1970's and won the best actor award twice. He later switched over to films and portrayed villain and character roles with ease. He acted in over 142 Tamil, Kannada and Telugu films.
The last film he acted was Pattanathil Bhootham, in which superstar Mammootty is the hero. Some of his notable roles were in movies like Thommanum Makkalum, Chettan Bava Aniyan Bava and Maya Bazar.
Dev had also directed two Malayalam films Achamakuttiyude Achayan and Achante Kochu molku. A large number of film personalities visited the hospital on hearing the news of his death and paid floral tributes.