Actor Bijili Ramesh, best known for his YouTube presence and for featuring in films, passed away yesterday (August 26) in Chennai after suffering from a prolonged illness.

He was 46.

This comes months after the actor revealed in an interview on YouTube that he was suffering from liver ailments due to excessive alcohol consumption.

In the video, Ramesh urged his colleagues in the industry to help him financially or to give him a second chance in films, reinstating his wish to work with his idol, Rajinikanth.

Ramesh was admitted to a government hospital in Chennai, however, his condition worsened in the last couple of weeks.

The actor breathed his last on Monday night.

Ramesh found his breakthrough on the internet after a prank video, featuring popular YouTubers VJ Siddhu and Ram Nishanth, went viral.

Ramesh’s imitation of Rajinikanth and his signature dialogues, like ‘Idhu Dhan Thavaraana Vishayam,’ caught social media by fire.

The actor entered mainstream cinema by featuring in the music video of ‘Kabiskabaa CoCo,’ a promotion song of Nelson Dilipkumar’s debut film, starring Nayanthara.

Since then, Ramesh has acted in films such as and soon.

The news about Ramesh’s death has come as a shock to Tamil pop-culture fans.

The actor is survived by his wife and son.

The final rites are set to take place at Ramesh’s residence in MGR Nagar, Chennai, later today (August 27).

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