Chennai: Renowned character actor Raghuvaran died here Wednesday after a weeklong fight to survive a cardiac arrest, the family said. He was 49.

Although separated from him, his former wife and actor Rohini was inconsolable. They have a nine-year-old son, Nanda.

Honoured by the Tamil Nadu government with its premier "Kalaimamani" award, the actor had carved a niche for himself by his method acting.

In a career spanning 26 years, Raghuvaran played hero, villain and character roles in Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Hindi movies rubbing shoulders with stars such as Rajnikanth, Kamal Hassan, Sathyaraj, Mammooty and Mohanlal.

The distinctly different use of a cultured, baritone voice in a peculiarly slow, deliberate dialogue-delivery set Raghuvaran apart from the rest.

Noticed by critics immediately after his 1982 debut film "Ezhavathu Manithan" (Seventh Man), Raghuvaran played hero briefly and developed into a well-established character actor.

"Raghu came up through struggle and dedication and was unique in everything he did," said South Indian Film Artistes Association President, actor and politician Sarath Kumar.

Besides leading lights of the south Indian film industry like ace director Maniratnam and leading actor Vijay, Local Administration Minister M.K. Stalin paid floral tributes to the dead actor.