Today is a black day I cannot forget, says Rajinikanth

Several celebrities from Tamil cinema mourned the death of litterateur and former chief minister M Karunanidhi.

Actor Rajinikanth was among the first to condole the leader's demise. "Today is a black day that I cannot forget in my life as it is a day that my Kalaignar has passed away. May his soul rest in peace," he wrote on the microblogging site Twitter.

Actor R Madhavan too expressed grief. "Saddened hearing the demise of one of this nation's most dynamic leaders and writers," he posted on Twitter.

Actress Nikki Galrani said, "End of another era! My heartfelt condolences to his family, admirers and followers. We will forever remember him for his years and years of public service."

Actress Parvatii said, "Rest in peace Kalaignar Karunanidhi. Your contributions to the welfare of Tamil language and Tamilnadu will speak across generations. The sun will shine in our hearts always."

Priya Bhavani Shankar tweeted, "Sad to hear about the demise of a great leader who was in politics from a young age and rose as a great leader. Thanks for inspiring many of us."

Actress Hansika tweeted, "With profound grief I have learnt about the loss of our beloved Kalaignar Dr M Karunanidhi. I hope god gives courage and hope to the family members and fellow Tamilians to cope with this huge loss."

Music director Anirudh Ravichander, who is related to Rajinikanth, said simply, "End of a legendary era. Heartfelt condolences."

Actor and music director GV Prakash called it the end of "an era of politics, an era of leadership, an era of writing".

One of actor Dhanush's favourite music directors, Sean Roldan, also took to Twitter to register his thoughts on Karunanidhi's passing. "Scholar, orator, writer, administrator, revolutionary and a great leader has left us today," he wrote. "This is an irreplaceable loss for Tamil Nadu. An extraordinary man who will leave his mark forever on Indian politics and arts."