Actor Vivek is cremated with full state honors on Saturday evening, hours after his untimely demise. He had passed away in the wee hours of Saturday in Chennai at the age of 59 due to cardiac arrest. He was rushed to SIMS Hospital on Friday after he suffered cardiac arrest. He was brought in an unconscious state and admitted to the Intensive Care Unit.

He was spelled to be in a critical condition and was battling for survival. His sudden hospitalization had immensely shocked everyone and several celebrities and political leaders had extended their prayers for his speedy recovery. However, he had breathed his last on Saturday, leaving the Indian cinema with incessant dusk. Being known as 'Chinna Kalaivaanar' and 'Janangalin Kalaignar', Vivek had touched millions of hearts through his unparalleled contribution to the Indian cinema and society. 

After he breathed his last, his mortal remains were brought to his residence in Virumgambakkam, Chennai, and thousands of people had queued up before his residence to pay homage. Several celebrities including Suriya, Karthi, Siddharth, Vijay Sethupathi, Soori, Ramesh Kanna, Director Shankar, Trisha, Priya Bhavani Shankar, and Keerthy Suresh had paid homage to the Padma Shri actor at his residence. The actors close to Vivek including Mayilsamy, Cell Murugan, and Bonda Mani had broken down with tears. 

As several people thronged before his residence to pay their last respect, hundreds of police personnel were deployed for security purposes. Hours after bringing his mortal remains home, his family members prepared for the last rituals, and owing to the Election Model Code of Conduct, the Tamil Nadu government has asked the Election Commission of India to seek its consent to provide the actor with the respect of full state honors. 

Following the consent, the state government has said that the actor would be awarded full state honors in recognition of his contributions to cinema and social work. The arrangements were made for his final journey and at around 5 pm, Vivek's mortal remains had left his home for the final time and his body was taken in a closed van to Mettukuppam electric crematorium. 

When his final journey started from his home, a flood of people had surrounded the van and journey to bid a tearful farewell to the actor who made them smile for over three decades. Actors Jai and Cell Murugan were among the people who lifted his mortal remains. Thousands of people joined the final journey to see the actor's face for one last time as it snarled towards the electric crematorium.

After reaching the crematorium, two rows of policemen had fired 72 bullets in a gesture to pay him last respects and cremate him in full state honors. Following the state honors, his mortal remains were carried inside the crematorium and his daughter Tejaswini had performed the last rituals post which his mortal remains were pushed into the crematorium. 

When his daughter carried out the last rituals, millions had broken down into tears as Vivek's era has come to an end. Throughout his career, Vivek hasn't limited himself as an actor but he kept his contribution for sowing a seed of change in society. While he brought a smile on the big screens, he also had injected a social message to the people from education to religion. His contribution to society was boundless in that it touched every soul to inspire a change.

Vivek had shown that acting is not the designated job for the actor and they can contribute to society. The Padma Shri actor had left a legacy and vacuum behind him both in the cinema and social activism. In Vivek, the Indian Cinema and the society had seen a daring soul and charming face which used smile and love as the weapon to defeat the problems and obstacles. In a career spanning three decades, he never disappointed the people and never failed to inspire and motivate the younger generation. Now, he disappointed everyone for making their prayers go vain. Goodbye Vivek, Thank you for everything. You will be missed but never be forgotten.