Late CM Karunanidhi’s eldest son M K Muthu dies at 77

Late Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M Karunandhi’s eldest son, M K Muthu, who was an actor and playback singer, died on Saturday due to age-related ailments, his family said.

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The 77-year-old actor is the elder brother of Chief Minister M K Stalin. His MP sister Kanimozhi, after hearing the sad news while attending an event in Madurai, rushed back to the city to pay her last respects.

Stalin and his Deputy Chief Minister son Udhayanidhi rushed to Muthu’s residence here to pay their respects to Muthu, born in 1948, who made a mark in the Tamil film industry.

His body was kept at the Gopalapuram residence of Karunanidhi for the public to pay their respects.

A host of political party leaders, including former Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan, state ministers, MPs, MLAs, party members, actors and public paid their last respects.

The mortal remains of Muthu were cremated at the electric crematorium in Besant Nagar in the evening after they were brought in a procession from Gopalapuram, where Stalin, accompanied by his elder brother M K Alagiri, was among the scores of family members and well-wishers who participated in the final journey inspite of the drizzle.

“The news that the eldest son of Kalaignar (Karunanidhi) family, my dear brother M K Muthu, passed away struck me like a thunderbolt this morning. The grief of losing my beloved brother, who showed me affection on par with my mother and father, torments me,” Stalin said.

Karunanidhi named him Muthu in memory of his father Muthuvel.

“Like Kalaignar, brother Muthu contributed to the Dravidian movement through plays from his youth. He had his own unique style in acting, dialogue delivery, and body language. Due to such energy and enthusiasm, he entered the film industry in 1970. He played a double role in his first film,” the CM said in a post on the social media platform ‘X’.

Muthu is eternally remembered in the hearts of Tamil fans through the films: ‘Pillaiyo Pillai’, ‘Pookari’, ‘Samayalakaran’, and ‘Anayavilakku’, he said.

“He had a special quality that many actors do not have. He had the ability to sing songs in his own voice sweetly. The song ‘Nalla Manathil Kudiyirikkum Nagoor Andava’ and the song ‘Sonthakaaranga Enakku Romba Perunga’ are songs that many people still cannot forget,” he said.

He was always affectionate towards him and always encouraged him, Stalin said, and added though his brother was no more he would always live in people’s hearts through art, songs, and music.

Earlier, Union Minister L Murugan and AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami conveyed their heartfelt condolences and sympathies to the bereaved family members of Muthu.