Noted Telugu actor Srihari passed away on Wednesday, following a liver ailment, at Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai. He was 49.
The news was confirmed as many celebrities took to the social networking site, Twitter, to share their condolences. "Another loss to our industry!! Srihari garu!! Rip sir we will miss you," tweeted actor Navdeep.
"Shocked to hear that Srihari garu has passed away. One of the kindest, most generous people in the Telugu film industry. Terrible loss," tweeted Siddharth, who worked with Srihari in the film
Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana (which won Srihari the state award).
Twitter saw an increasing number of "#Srihari" tagged tweets, as celebrities and fans paid homage. One fan wrote, "#SriHari has a niche in TeluguFilmIndustry! No Actor can replace him! Hez very Good at his diction & dailogue!! Very Sad Yea Hez No More!"
The actor, who started work in small roles, slowly rose to a stage where he portrayed pivotal characters in movies. Also, Srihari is one of the few actors belonging to the Telangana region, who carved a niche for himself in the film industry. Fellow Telanganite and actor Nitin expressed shock at the news too. He was among the first few people to confirm the death. "Shocked to hear that srihari garu is no more..may his soul r.i.p..," he tweeted.
Srihari is survived by wife Shanthi and 2 sons. Srihari had a daughter, Akshara, who died when she was 4 months old. In her memory, he started the Akshara foundation, for charity.