CHENNAI: Vishal, the 12-year-old son of actor-director Prabhu Deva, died in Chennai on Thursday morning

He was suffering from brain tumour for a while.

Originally named as Basasavaraju, Vishal was the oldest of Prabhu Deva's three boys. Despite the best care, Vishal's condition deteriorated and he failed to respond to treatment, said sources close to the family. The funeral was held on the same day.

Kollywood went into deep mourning as news of the boy's death was out in the morning. Actor Rajnikanth, accompanied by wife Lata and daughters Aishwarya and Soundarya, visited Prabhu Deva's RA Puram residence. So did actor Kamal Hassan. Actors Khushboo, Vivek and Karan, cinematographers Nirav Shah and Rajeev Menon, directors Shankar and S A Chandrashekar were among those who tried to comfort the grieving parents, Prabhu and Latha. "It was hard enough to watch M N Nambiar being laid to rest; the sight of a young child in a coffin is traumatic," said an actor.

Prabhu Deva, who shot to fame first with his 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, starring Vijay and Asin. Currently directing 'Vil,' starring Vijay, Prabhu Deva had returned to Chennai a couple of days ago, and was with Vishal when he breathed his last.