Actor Nitish Veera. who impressed fans with his work in Kaala and Asuran, passed away on Monday due to Covid-19. He was 45.

He began his career with Dhanush's Pudhupettai, which hit the screens in 2006. The film was directed by Selvaraghavan and featured him in the role of a henchman. The gangster drama received rave reviews for its hard-hitting storyline and raw presentation and soon attained cult status. It was dubbed into Telugu as Dhoolpeta.

Nitish subsequently garnered attention when he played the role of the hot-headed Sekar in Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu, which marked Vishnu Vishal's big-screen debut. The sports drama exceeded expectations at the box office while receiving favourable reviews. The cast included Kishore, Saranya Mohan and Soori. The sleeper hit was later remade in Telugu and Hindi as Bheemili Kabaddi Jattu and Badlapur Boys, respectively.

It was, however, the 2018 release Kaala–which featured Nitish in the role of Rajinikanth's son–that proved to be a gamechanger for the young actor. He had once revealed that he was 'shocked' on learning that he would be acting alongside 'Superstar' in Pa Ranjith's magnum opus.

"Ranjith came and told me that I play Rajini sir’s eldest son in the movie. For a moment, I was pleasantly shocked.” he had told Deccan Chronicle.

Nitish subsequently essayed key roles in Neeya 2, Nayanthara's Airaa and the Jyothika-starrer Raatchasi. He was also part of director Ram's critically-acclaimed film Peranbu, featuring Malayalam actor Mammootty in the lead. The sincere performer also reprised his role from Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu in its 'spiritual sequel' Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu 2. The 2019 release Asuran, which reunited him with Dhanush, proved to be another important release for him as it emerged as a big hit and received a positive response from critics. 'D' won the National Award for his work in the Vetrimaaran-helmed movie.

Nitish is reportedly a part of the Vijay Sethupathi-starrer Laabam, directed by the late S P Jananathan. The film stars Shruti Haasan as the leading lady and is expected to hit the screens later this year.