Actor Prabhu Deva's son Vishal dead

CHENNAI: Vishal, the 12-year-old sonof actor-director Prabhu Deva, died in Chennai on Thursday morningHewas suffering from brain tumour for a while. Originally named asBasasavaraju, Vishal was the oldest of Prabhu Deva's three boys. Despite thebest care, Vishal's condition deteriorated and he failed to respond totreatment, said sources close to the family. The funeral was held on the sameday.Kollywood went into deep mourning as news of the boy's death wasout in the morning. Actor Rajnikanth, accompanied by wife Lata and daughtersAishwarya and Soundarya, visited Prabhu Deva's RA Puram residence. So did actorKamal Hassan. Actors Khushboo, Vivek and Karan, cinematographers Nirav Shah andRajeev Menon, directors Shankar and S A Chandrashekar were among those who triedto comfort the grieving parents, Prabhu and Latha. "It was hard enough to watchM N Nambiar being laid to rest; the sight of a young child in a coffin istraumatic," said an actor.Prabhu Deva, who shot to fame first withhis dance, later graduated to hero roles in films like 'Kaadhalan,' 'Rasaiiya'and 'Indu.' He turned to direction in Telugu first, with 'Pournami' and'Nuvostanante Nenodantana.' He followed it up with 'Pokkiri' in Tamil, starringVijay and Asin. Currently directing 'Vil,' starring Vijay, Prabhu Deva hadreturned to Chennai a couple of days ago, and was with Vishal when he breathedhis last.