Tamil actor-politician R Sarath Kumar hospitalized: Reports
What's the story
Popular Tamil actor-filmmaker R Sarath Kumar has been admitted to a private hospital in Chennai, according to multiple reports.
He reportedly fell sick on Sunday and was rushed to Apollo Hospital in the Tamil Nadu capital city, where he is currently undergoing treatment.
The actor has been suffering from diarrhea that led to dehydration, as per reports.
Details
Kumar was reportedly unwell for past few days
Reports claimed Kumar had been suffering from diarrhea for the past two days.
His health, however, deteriorated further on Sunday due to dehydration. While there is no official statement on the actor's health so far, it is being claimed that his condition is now stable.
Kumar's wife, popular actor Radhika, and his daughter, actor Varalakshmi Sarath Kumar, are reportedly with him in the hospital.
Films
A look at Kumar's film career
An actor-turned-producer, Kumar is also a politician in Tamil Nadu.
Though he predominantly works in the Tamil film industry, he has also been part of several Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada films. Kumar marked his acting debut with the 1986 Telugu film Samajamlo Sthree.
In a career spanning nearly four decades, Kumar has acted in over 130 movies across the various southern film industries.
Politics
On the political front
Kumar is the president of All India Samathuva Makkal Katchi, a political party he launched on August 31, 2007.
Before joining politics, Kumar was considered to be close to the late All India Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) supremo Jayalalithaa.
He began his political career in 1996 by joining the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and later switched to the AIADMK, which he quit in 2006.
Other details
Before becoming an actor, Kumar was a journalist
Kumar started his acting career in the late '80s. But before acting, he worked as a journalist.
In fact, he was initially a newspaper boy who then ventured into managing newspaper circulation and eventually became a reporter.
Kumar, in an old interview, had said that although he is now an actor and a politician, the journalist in him continues to live on.