Veteran playwright- actor Crazy Mohan passes away 

Eminent playwright, screenwriter and actor Crazy Mohan, breathed his last breath at 2 PM today in Kauvery Hospital, Chennai. The 67-year-old thespian succumbed to an acute heart attack.

Born as Mohan Rangachari, he completed his graduation in Mechanical Engineering at the College of Engineering, Guindy. He became a full-time writer because of the guidance of his friend and the President of Tamil Mandram, S Ravi. He got the epithet 'crazy' after penning the play Crazy Thieves in Palavakkam starring S Ve Shekher's troupe in 1976. Following that, he started his own troupe called Crazy Creations in 1979 and he went on to be an active part of Tamil theatre despite his commitment to cinema from the 1980s. His dramas like Maadhu +2, Jurassic Baby and Chocolate Krishna became runway hits and the latter play holds the record for being staged more than 500 times within a span of three years. 

His first film as a screenwriter, Poikkal Kudhirai, was based on one of his plays Marriage Made in Saloon, and the comedy film was helmed by veteran director K Balachander. He is also known for his extended cameos in the films penned by him. Vasool Raja MBBS' Dr Margabandhu and the unnamed doctor character in Chinna Vaathiyar, are few of his memorable roles. Though he penned the dialogue and screenplay for multiple actors' films, all his works with Kamal Haasan like Apoorva Sagodharargal, Michael Madana Kama Rajan and Panchathanthiram,  turned out to be the biggest hits. 

Kamal Haasan took to Twitter to share a moving tribute to his friend Crazy Mohan. He wrote, "The epithet “Crazy” doesn’t apply to him. The right one should have been “sage” of comedy. He levelled down his talents and knowledge to make his comedy reach a wider audience."

He added that friendship has no end. "Is a friendship present only when the person is live? Mohan's comedy will live through his fans, and I too will stand in support of that."

Mohan's last film as a screenwriter was  2010's Kola Kolaya Mundhirika. He also penned the dialogues of  Naan Ee, the Tamil version of Eega. 

He is survived by his wife and two sons.