South Indian actor Kazan Khan, best known for his roles as antagonist in the Tamil movies 'Sethupathi IPS' and 'Ullathai Allithaa', the Malayalam superhits 'CID Moosa' and 'The King' and the Kannada sleeper hit 'Yajamaana' in a career spanning hundreds of movies over nearly three decades, died of a heart attack. He was 46.
Malayalam film producer NM Badusha announced the death of the popular actor on Facebook late on June 12.
Sharing a photo of the actor, Badusha said in Malayalam: "The popular actor Kazan Khan, known for his roles as villain, died of a heart attack. He has acted in many films, including 'CID Moosa' and 'Varnapakittu'."
Blessed with a muscular frame and suave looks, he could have easily transitioned to playing the hero. Yet, like actors Babu Antony and Raghuvaran before him, he was largely typecast as the villain — the terrorist or the swindler or a scheming secretary at a large corporation.
Khan made his debut in the Tamil movie 'Sentamizh Paatu' (the Tamil song) in 1992. He played a minor role in 'Kalaignan' (the artiste), in his very second movie, against Kamal Haasan. Any other actor could have been easily swayed at the reputation of stars like Haasan, but Khan delivered a memorable and lasting impression in his small role.
He went on to star opposite most leading actors from the industry at the time, including Vijayakanth ('Sethupathi IPS', 'Karuppu Nila (black horizon)' and 'En Aasai Machan (my dear lover)'), Prabhu ('Mappillai Gounder'), Sathyaraj ('Ponnu Veetukaran (from the girl's side)') and Karthik Muthuraman ('Ullathai Alli Thaa (give me your heart)' and 'Mettukudi').
His roles comprised the brother of a terrorist seeking vengeance against his killer, in 'Sethupathi IPS', as the two-timing secretary in the laughter riot 'Ullathai Allithaa' — both blockbusters. Contact lenses, a laugh that bordered on a smirk or furrowed eyebrows became his trademarks. It was as if almost he was being stereotyped.
It was around this time that he got his big break in the Malayalam film industry, in the 1995 film 'The King', starring superstar Mammootty and directed by Shaji Kailas. The movie turned out to be a blockbuster and his character, named Vikram Ghorpade, fetched him instant recognition. Soon, the roles started flowing in from Malayalam cinema as well.
Be it 'Varnapakittu', 'Dreams', 'CID Moosa' or 'Masters', Khan had a starring role to play in many memorable Malayalam movies — as the antagonist nonetheless.
Among his career high-points include roles in the Tamil blockbuster 'Vanathaipola', starring Vijayakanth. The movie — a drama in which an elder brother moves pillar to post to bring up his three younger siblings — is considered among the biggest hits of Tamil cinema to date. Khan also had a role to play in the movie's Kannada remake 'Yajamaana (the master)', starring the yesteryear actor Vishnuvardhan.
Other prominent movies he starred in include 'Kannan Varuvaan (Kannan will come)', 'Gandhi Pirantha Mann (the soil in which Gandhi was born)', 'Cheluva (lover)',
Khan's last movie was the 2015 Malayalam flick 'Laila O Laila', starring Mohanlal and Amala Paul.
