Who was Shihan Hussaini, the Tamil actor who crucified himself for Jayalalithaa?

Actor, karate legend, and archery expert Shihan Hussaini passed away on Tuesday morning at the age of 60. Shihan, who was suffering from blood cancer, breathed his last at a private hospital in Chennai. As per media reports, Shihan had made the decision to donate his body for medical research, a decision that is said to have been made days before his death. Reportedly, his funeral will be held at 4 PM at the Royapettah Ameerunisa Burial Ground.

Shihan, who was the founder of Tamil Nadu’s Archery Association, was also an actor who worked with the likes of Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth. He made his acting debut in 1986 in 'Punnagai Mannan' and went on to act in several other films, including 'Badri’, Chennai City Gangsters’, ‘Bloodstone’, ‘Vedan’, Unnai Solli Kutramillai, and Kaathuvaakula Rendu Kaadhal.

However, more than his acting, karate, or archery skills, Shihan is remembered for his extreme devotion to the late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, which made him perform several controversial acts.

Back in 2015, Shihan stunned everyone with what is considered to be one of his most controversial acts, where he self-crucified himself. He got himself nailed on a 300 kg wooden cross. The reason behind it was his wish to see Jayalalithaa back in power.

But that’s not the only time when he displayed his extreme devotion to Jayalalithaa. In the year 2005, on the occasion of Jayalalithaaaa’s 56th birthday, Shihan painted 56 portraits of her, using his blood. Later, in 2013, he made a frozen bust of her using 11 litres of blood, which included his own. All these acts were, however, condemned by the leader who asked Shihan to refrain from performing such stunts.

Apart from these, Shihan had performed several other controversial stunts, including letting 101 cars drive over his right arm, after which he broke 5,000 tiles and 1,000 bricks. He was also known to have used pig’s blood to paint a portrait of former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa.