Tamil film industry was steeped in sorrow with the news of actor Daniel Balaji's demise late on Friday.
The actor reportedly complained of chest pain late on Friday and was taken to a private hospital where he succumbed to a heart attack. He was 48.
Balaji's mortal remains were kept at his residence for public to pay last respects after which he was cremated at 4 pm.
Kollywood celebrities expressed condolences over his death recalling fond memories shared with Balaji.
Calling Balaji his inspiration to join film institute, director Jayam Raja called him a "good friend" and said he would miss working with him.
Actor Suriya, on his X handle, said Balaji used to push himself harder to get a shot right. Daniel Balaji played a small role as a cop in Suriya's Kaakha Kaakha directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon.
Praising his noble act of donating eyes, Kamal said Daniel Balaji will live on. He said it pains him immensely to hear young people passing away.
Daniel Balaji is known to have kept a low-profile in the industry so much that not many knew he was the cousin of late actor Murali. Actor Atharvaa regretted not spending much time with his "Chithappa".
Actress Simran condoled Balaji's demise to his family and friends.
The actor who started his career in the industry by working as a unit production manager in Kamal Haasan's shelved film Marudhunayagam, broke into the scene through the famous serial Chithi, starring Radikaa Sarathkumar in the lead role. It was in that serial he got the screen name Daniel.
Daniel Balaji made his big screen debut in 2002 with April Madhathil. The seasoned actor is remembered for playing important roles in films like Kaakha Kaakha, Polladhavan, Vettaiyadu Vilayaadu, and Vada Chennai. A regular in Gautham Menon films, Daniel Balaji gave many invested performances and brought in personality to even some generic roles in his career. Over the last two decades, he worked in Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada industries as well, which garnered him recognition across India.
He was last seen in the Tamil film Ariyavan directed by Mithran Jawahar, which was released last year.