S Muthiah is a writer, journalist, cartographer, amateur historian and heritage activist known for his writings on the city of Chennai. He passed away at yesterday (April 20), aged 89 at Chennai. He was 89 years old when he breathed his last. Muthiah is known for starting a newspaper, and is also the principal organiser of the Madras day Celebrations in Chennai.
It must be noted that he was an integral part of Kamal Haasan's dream project - Marudhanayagam, which is now shelved. The film was written, directed, and produced by Kamal Haasan, while he also played the lead actor, portraying the role of Muhammad Yusuf Khan.
Muthiah was a part of the history research team of this film. Actor Kamal Haasan, who worked with him, took to Twitter to share his condolences to the family of the celebrated writer. He tweeted:
"திரு.S. முத்தையா அவர்களை போலொரு சரித்திர ஆராய்ச்சியாளர், எழுத்தாளர் வாய்ப்பது அரிது. அவரின் மறைவு என் போன்ற ரசிகருக்கு பேரிழப்பு. மருதநாயகம் வரலாற்று ஆராய்ச்சியில், அவரின் பங்களிப்பை என்றும் நன்றியுடன் நினைவு கோருவேன்."
Marudhanayagam was shelved due to various reasons, but Kamal fans still have hopes that the film will be made some day. The project was launched on a grand scale by Queen Elizabeth II in the year 1997. We, at Behindwoods, pray that Muthiah's soul rests in peace, and his family gets the strength to cope up with the loss.
