Actor-writer ‘Crazy’ Mohan died in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, on Monday after he suffered an acute heart attack, The Hindu reported. He was 67.

The actor was declared dead at 2 pm at Kauvery Hospital in the city.

Born in 1952 as Mohan Rangachari, his play Crazy Thieves in Palavakkam became an instant hit and gave Rangachari a new name, one he has been known by ever since - Crazy Mohan.

He has appeared in almost 1,000 productions of the immensely popular Chocolate Krishna apart from headlining Return of Crazy Thieves, a sequel to Crazy Thieves in Palavakkam. Mohan’s troupe Crazy Creations, created along with his brother R Balaji in 1979, has staged numerous plays as well as tapped into the Crazy Mohan brand of comedy for television through the serials Here is Crazy and Siri Siri Crazy.

Introduced by Kamal Haasan to the big screen, Rangachari had written dialogue and screenplays for numerous films, including Apoorva Sagodhargal (1989),Michael Madana Kama Rajan (1990), Sathi Leelavathi (1995), Avvai Shanmughi (1996), Kaathala Kaathala (1998) and Vasool Raja MBBS (2004).

In an interview to Scroll.in in 2017, he had said: “Usually you lose your life in an accident, but I got my life in this accident” and called writing “an accident”.

His dialogues are known to provide wisecracking commentary on daily life. He had said that he wanted to pursue engineering initially and never thought he would become a writer.

Several actors expressed their condolences. “#CrazyMohan sir is no more,” said actor Siddharth on Twitter. “What a sad day for cinema, theatre, laughter and life. There will never be another like him. Prayers for his soul. Deepest condolences to the family. He was a huge part of our collective #Tamil consciousness and our ability to make or laugh at a joke.”

Actor-turned politician Khushbu Sundar also mourned Rangachari’s death. “News just coming in about the demise of #CrazyMohan .. they could not revive him very unfortunately.. a genius has left behind a legacy.. deepest condolences to his family.. may his soul rest in peace..,” she tweeted.