Chennai, Nov 19 : One of the most enduring villains in Tamil films, M N Nambiar, who had acted in more than 1000 films, died at his residence here today following a heart attack, his family sources said.

He was 89. He is survived by one daughter and two sons, one of whom Sukumaran Nambiar, is a politician and a functionary in Tamil Nadu unit of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Nambiar, who was bedridden since the last two months, died at 1230 hrs at his Gopalapuram residence, the sources said. Mr Sukumaran Nambiar was at his bedside when he breathed the last.

A Malayalee by birth, Nambiar, who later settled down in in Chennai in Tamil Nadu for pursuing a career in acting, was born on March 7, 1919 at Kannur in Kerala.

Since his debut in the tinsel world in 1935 in a Hindi film, ''Baktha Ramadoss'', Nambiar had acted in more than 1100 films.

His last film was two-and-a-half year ago. He rose to great heights to carve out a niche for himself as a villain, in a record 70- year tenure in films spanning seven generations, earning Rs 3 in theatre-''Boys Company''- here. He had used to just Re 1 for himself and send the balance to his mother.

Even while being in the film industry, he led a spiritual life and visited Lord Ayappa every year.

Affectionately called as ''Gurusamy'' in the spiritual circles, Nambiar had visited Sabarimala hill shrine for a record 65 years, the sources said.