'Koyla' actor Salim Ghouse passes away aged 70

Veteran actor Salim Ghouse, who has been a part of several Bollywood as well as regional films, passed away on Thursday morning.

The news of his demise was confirmed by Vivaan Shah, the son of Naseeruddin Shah, with a tweet. "RIP Salim Ghouse sir. Deeply devastated to hear of his passing. A great great artist and a wonderful human being. A towering actor of Shakespearean proportions. My heart goes out to Anita Ma’m and Aaryama. Strength and prayers to the whole family," he wrote.

Sharib Hashmi also mourned the loss of the actor.

Ghouse became a popular face with the television series 'Subah' in 1987. He is also known for playing Rama, Krishna, Tipu Sultan in Shyam Benegal's TV Series 'Bharat Ek Khoj', and for being a part of the cult show 'Wagle Ki Duniya'.

Besides, he also acted in a number of Bollywood films, including Shah Rukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit's 'Koyla', 'Saaransh', 'Mujrim', 'Shapath', 'Soldier', 'Aks', and 'Indian', among others.

Apart from that, he has also featured in several Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films. In 1989, he essayed the role of a villain in the Tamil film 'Vettri Vizhaa', directed by Pratap Pothen as the rival to Kamal Haasan. He starred alongside Mohanlal in the classic Malayalam movie 'Thazhvaram', directed by Bharathan. In 1993, he did a villain role in Mani Ratnam's film 'Thiruda Thiruda'.