Senior Dravidian leader and film maker M Veerappan died at a private hospital in Chennai due to age-related illness on Tuesday. RM Veerappan, a political strategist for Tamil Nadu CM MG Ramachandran, was fondly known as 'Chanakya' of AIADMK politics. He was 97.
RM Veerappan served in the cabinet of former TN CMs MGR, Janaki and J Jayalalithaa. He held the position of Cabinet Minister in five administrations spanning from 1977 to 1996. Additionally, he has served as a Member of the Legislative Council three times and as a Member of the Legislative Assembly twice. Furthermore, he has assumed leadership roles as the Leader of the House in the Legislative Assembly and as the Leader of the ADMK party in the Legislative Council.
Though a leader in the AIADMK party, he was also friendly with DMK leaders and former DMK president K Karunanidhi. After serving in AIADMK for a while, he quit the party and formed MGR Kazhagam. In the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, the M.G.R. Kazhagam backed the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-led Democratic Progressive Alliance.
RM Veerappan contributed largely to Tamil cinema and revolutionized the industry. He produced several movies under the banner 'Sathya Movies'. The last movie produced under the banner was 'Em Mangan' in 2014.