Sathish Kumar (yellow tshirt in above pic), who acted as a vendor in the film Marina, was run over by a speeding oil tanker at Nochi Nagar, near Santhome, on Friday.

Police said he was on a bicycle with his friend riding pillion, when he skidded and fell and was run over by the lorry. Sathish sustained severe head injuries and died on the spot.

Marina director Pandiraj, who was shooting in Trichy, said he was shocked to hear that Satish was dead. We did not select him initially after the auditions, he said. 'But the boy would come to watch the shooting every day, and impressed us with his talent for mimicry. We decided to cast him, and I wrote several scenes especially for him.'

Actor Siva Karthikeyan expressed his condolence in his micro-blogging age.

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He lived, worked and died on Marina beach here. Sathish Kumar, 16, who acted as a vendor in the film 'Marina', was run over by a speeding oil tanker at Nochi Nagar, near Santhome, on Friday.

Police said he was on a bicycle with his friend riding pillion, when he skidded and fell and was run over by the lorry. Sathish sustained severe head injuries and died on the spot.

A police officer said the lorry was carrying petrol from Adyar to Tondiarpet. "The boy left home at 1.30pm after telling his parents that he would be back soon," a police officer said. "The bicycle skidded on a sandy stretch of the road a few metres from his house. His friend escaped without injuries."

Sathish was a Class 10 dropout from the Chennai School near Pattinampakkam. He did various odd jobs before he got a job as a mechanic.

When contacted, 'Marina' director Pandiraj, who was shooting in Trichy, said he was shocked to hear that Satish was dead. "We did not select him initially after the auditions," he said. "But the boy would come to watch the shooting every day, and impressed us with his talent for mimicry. We decided to cast him and I wrote several scenes especially for him."

Residents of the area staged a protest and prevented vehicles from entering the stretch. They demanded action against speeding vehicles and said two children had died recently when they were hit by a speeding car. Gowtham, 10, and Mani, 16, died on the same stretch of road.

Adyar traffic investigation police arrested lorry driver Ilayaraja, 24, of Thiruvannamalai and registered a case against him under IPC sections 279 (rash driving) and 304 (a) (causing death by negligence).

Fondly called 'Kulla' by his friends, Sathish was also good at gymnastics, his friend Mani said. Satish's mother, Aegavalli, was disconsolate, saying the family had lost its source of joy and pride.

Director Pandiraj said he thought the "hyperactive" boy would have a bright future because of his energy and talent. "Unfortunately, that was not to be," he said.