Martial arts expert Shihan Hussaini, former teacher of film stars Vijay and Pawan Kalyan, passes away

Expressing their grief, the family wrote, “I’m very sad to inform you that HU has left us. HU will be at High Command, his residence in Besant Nagar, until evening.” They also made a special request to his students: “Whoever is coming to HU’s house to see his mortal remains, please come in your uniform (any colour is fine). If possible, bring your bow and arrow to shoot a few arrows.”

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In recent times, Hussaini’s Facebook account had drawn considerable attention as he openly shared updates about his battle with cancer. According to India Today, after seeing his posts, the Tamil Nadu government extended financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh for his treatment.

Beyond his expertise in karate and archery, Hussaini also appeared in several films. While he made his acting debut in renowned filmmaker K Balachander’s Punnagai Mannan (1986), starring Kamal Haasan and Revathi, he later acted in Rajinikanth’s Velaikaran (1987) and Bloodstone (1988) too. He also made appearances in “Thalapathy” Vijay’s Badri (2001) and Kaathuvaakula Rendu Kaadhal (2022), which starred Vijay Sethupathi, Nayanthara and Samantha Ruth Prabhu in the lead roles.

Recently, in an interview with Galatta, he spoke about his struggles with the disease and made requests to his former students Pawan Kalyan and Vijay. While Hussaini requested his former student Kalyan Kumar, popularly known as Pawan Kalyan, to buy his training centre from him, he also made a request to actor-politician Vijay.

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