CHENNAI: Due to prolonged illness, film producer VA Durai has passed away in Chennai during the late hours of Monday. He was diagnosed with diabetes.

Durai had produced films starring Vikram, Surya, Vijayakanth, and Sathyaraj. Films such as 'Ennama Kannu', 'Vivaramaana Aalu', 'Gajendra', 'Lootty', 'Lovely' and 'Pithamagan' were bankrolled by him under the banner Evergreen International.

Durai, for the recent years, had been afflicted by a failing health and a poor financial status.He had appealed to the people of the film industry and the general public to aid his treatment and had charged a few directors with failing to honour commitments made to him.