Actor-filmmaker G. Marimuthu passed away on September 8 due to a heart attack in Chennai. He was 57. The news of his demise left the Tamil film fraternity and fans in shock, with many celebrities getting emotional as they paid their tributes to the revered Tamil actor. Having garnered a huge fan following for playing the characrer Aadhi Gunasekaran on the hit Sun TV serial Ethirneechal, Marimuthu's son Akhilan in an exclusive interview with Galatta spoke about his late father's plans for the show and the impact his role had created among the people.
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Marimuthu's son Akhilan said, "My father was almost 58 years old. His main focus was Ethirneechal. He had plans for the next five years. He also was planning to act in more films. He had already informed in various interviews that he wasn't too keen on returning to film direction. He wanted to take Ethirneechal to the next level and work harder with all his strength. He had the stability and the capacity for that. He wanted to keep working for five years and then decided to relax. He now has a special place in everyone's hearts. That affection has brought him everything."
Speaking about the impact of his father's performance in Ethirneechal among Tamil audiences, Marimuthu's son Akhilan stated, "He directed two films. He has acted in around 100 films to date. And, no character among the ones he portrayed in those 100 films has given him the reach or the name or the impression as Aadhi Gunasekaran did. Ever since he became a part of Ethirneechal, he had been living more like Adhi Gunasekaran than Marimuthu. He had put so much effort into that serial and that character. Many people have even asked him whether that is who he is in real-life too. He completed nearly 500 episodes on the show, but that's not who he is." Akhilan continued, "There may be a few traits of that character in him, but he's a completely different person, and that is what he has emphasized in all the interviews. No other character has created the same impact in his career and in our family as the one he portrayed on the show. There's no second opinion on the fact that the serial will be incomplete without his presence. The show's director Thiruselvam sir told us that the entire team hasn't been able to come out of the shock, but life has to move on. Something will happen. Someone will get replaced. We will cherish that character forever."
