Veteran Malayalam theatre artist and actor Kainakary Thankaraj passed away on Sunday (April 3) at his residence in Keralapuram. If reports are to be believed, Thankaraj was under treatment for liver-related ailments for the last few years. He was 77 when he breathed his last. The final rites took place this morning in the presence of the actor's family. Several notable film personalities including Mammootty, Mohanlal, and director Lijo Jose Pellissery paid their tribute to Thankaraj on social media, following his untimely death. The fans have also been sharing their heartfelt condolences.

Kainakary Thankaraj started his acting career with theatre plays after which he slowly learnt the art and carved a niche for himself. Kainakary Thankaraj made his silver screen acting debut with the 1978 film, Aana Paachan which starred Prem Nazir and Adoor Bhasi in lead roles. He gained critical acclaim for his impactful performance as Vavachan in the Lijo Jose Pellissery directorial, Ee.Ma.Yau. Kainakary Thankaraj acted in supporting roles in several other Malayalam films like Amen, Iblis, Lucifer, Ishq, Varikkuzhiyile Kolapathakam, and the very recent feel-good drama, Home.

Thankaraj's natural and emotional performance as Appachan, Indrans' father, in Home won the hearts of the audience and he will indeed be dearly remembered for his memorable performance in the film. Director Rojin Thomas who worked with the veteran actor in Home expressed his heartfelt condolences with an Instagram post. Sharing some heartwarming throwback pictures of Kainakary Thankaraj, Rojin Thomas posted, "Soul of Our #HOME #KAINAKARITHANKARAJ (appachan) You are always loved and never forgotten ❤️ ❤️".

Home features Indrans and Sreenath Bhasi in lead roles, while Manju Pillai, Naslen K Gafoor, Vijay Babu, Srikant Murali, Asha Aravind, KPAC Lalitha, Anoop Menon form the supporting cast. The film, which is directed by Rojin Thomas, is currently streaming on the Amazon Prime Video platform.