Chennai, Oct. 24: Veteran Tamil actor S.S. Rajendran, the first screen hero to become the member of a legislature, died in Chennai today. He was 86.

SSR, as he was known, was a contemporary of Tamil film legends Sivaji Ganesan and M.G. Ramachandran.

He made his mark in Ganesan’s first movie Parasakthi in 1952. He went on to give a string of hits, from period films to family dramas. A follower of rationalist leader Periyar, he had refused to act in mythological films.

An ardent admirer of DMK founder C.N. Annadurai, Rajendran joined the DMK and was elected to the then Madras State Assembly in 1962 from Theni constituency. It was the first time in the country that an actor had been elected to a legislature. Rajendran continued to act even after becoming an MLA.

Rajendran later joined the AIADMK, founded by MGR. He was rewarded with an Assembly ticket in the 1980 elections from Andipatti. He won the seat with the highest margin in that election — larger than what MGR managed from Madurai West.

Rajendran, who was thrice married, had retired from active politics after MGR’s death.