Veteran Telugu actor Chandra Mohan passed away on Saturday at the age of 78.
He was suffering from cardiac illness for some days, and breathed his last at 9:45 am while undergoing treatment at the Apollo Hospital in Jubilee Hills in Hyderabad.
Born on May 23, 1943, in Pamidimukkala village of Krishna district in Andhra Pradesh, Chandra Mohan made his debut in the Telugu film industry with the film Rangula Ratnam. He had acted in more than 900 films as a hero, comedian and character artist, and essayed the hero / lead actor's role in more than 175 films.
Oxygen starring Gopichand was his last film. He also acted in a few Tamil movies.
Chandra Mohan gained special recognition through comedy roles. Possessed of undoubted acting prowess, he also won two Nandi awards and a Filmfare South award for his performances. His Nandi awards were for Chandamama Rave in 1987 in the Best Comedian category, and for Best Supporting Actor for the movie
Athanokkade in 2005. His Filmfare award was for Best Actor for his performance in the movie Padaharella Vayasu co-starring Sridevi.
Chandra Mohan is survived by his wife Jalandhara and two daughters. His final rites will be held in Hyderabad on Monday.
Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao condoled the death of Chandra Mohan. Rao said that Chandra Mohan had entertained crores of audiences for decades with his diverse roles and distinctive acting, and that the death was a big loss for Telugu cinema. The CM said that many actors had risen to higher levels with the inspiration of Chandra Mohan, and that the actor had won the affection of millions of Telugu-speaking people as well as people speaking other languages.