‘Vietnam Colony’ fame Vijaya Rangaraju passes away

Nobody will be able to forget the iconic villain Paravur Rawther in the classic Mohanlal starrer ‘Vietnam Colony’. The actor Vijaya Rangaraju who played the role passed away in Chennai following a heart attack.

According to Republic World, Vijaya Rangaraju was under treatment at a private hospital as he suffered an injury during a shoot that happened in Hyderabad. Reports also say that the actor sustained injury in the last week and he was admitted to a Government hospital due to financial issues. The actor is survived by his two daughters.


Although Malayali audiences know Vijaya Rangaraju for his role in ‘Vietnam Colony’, the actor has breathed life into several characters in Telugu and Tamil movies. Vijaya Rangaraju also played pivotal characters in Kannada movies.


Vijaya Rangaraju aka Raj Kumar stepped into the Telugu film industry with the folk film ‘Bhairava Dweep’ which hit the big screens in the year 1994 where he played the role of a villain. The movie starred Gopichand in the lead. ‘Bhairava Dweep’ was a turning point in Vijaya Rangaraju’s film career. He was known majorly for playing negative characters and also supporting roles in several Telugu films. His other notable entry in the Telugu film industry was with Bapu’s ‘Seetha Kalyanam’ which turned out to be a superhit.


Some of his most popular films include Magarayudu, Madam, Bhairava Island, Sacrifice, Visakha Express, Brave Telangana (2010), Drummer, Band Baja, and Hymn.


Meanwhile, Vijaya Rangaraju has also acted alongside Mammootty in the comedy-drama movie ‘Venicile Vyapari’ which was directed by Shafi and hit the big screens in the year 2011.