Actor Murali, a national award winner and one of the eminent actors in Malayalam died in a hospital, Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday night following a brief illness.

An acute diabetic patient, Murali was admitted in a private hospital yesterday and the end came as he suffered a heart attack, as confirmed by the hospital sources. Murali, 55, is survived by wife Shailaja and daughter Karthika .

Murali had acted in around 200 films in his 30-year career. Last week he had just come back from Cape Town in South Africa, where he was shooting for Tamil actor Surya"s Aadhavan, directed by K.S Ravikumar and produced by Udayanidhi Stalin.

He won the National award (Bharath) for the best actor in 2001 for his performance in Neythukaaran (Weaver) and had won four State awards as well. Njhaattadi (1979) directed by the late 'Bharat' Gopi was his first film. His notable films include Panchagni, Lal Salam, Venkalam, Amaram, Champakulam Thachan, Ghershome, Ekaantham, Chamayam and Meenamaasathile Sooryan.

In theatre, his role of 'Ravana' in the play Lankalakshmi directed by C N Sreekantan Nair had been widely appreciated. The funeral will take place today, Friday -evening at 5 pm with state honours, till then his body will be kept at the VJT Hall in Thiruvananthapuram.