Veteran Actor Kaikala Satyanarayana Passes Away

Veteran Telugu film actor Kaikala Satyanarayana, one of the best-known names in the industry, passed away at his Filmnagar residence in the wee hours of Friday.

The 87-year-old actor had been ailing from age-related issues for quite some time.

The last rites of Satyanarayana will be performed at the Mahaprasthanam crematorium in Jubilee Hills on Saturday. People and fans may go and pay respects to him at this residence until then.

Born on July 25, 1935, in Krishna district, Satyanarayana completed his primary education in Gudlavalleru and intermediate education in Vijayawada. He then graduated from Gudivada College.

In a film career spanning over 60 years, Satyanarayana acted in over 750 films, and essayed almost all genres of characters - hero, villain, patriarch and comedian. He received several awards, including the 2011 Raghupati Venkaiah Award and the 2017 Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award for Telugu cinema.

Satyanarayana also had a brief stint in politics. He got elected to the 11th Lok Sabha from Machilipatnam on a Telugu Desam Party ticket.

The condolences for the thespian were led right by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"Pained by the passing away of noted film personality Shri Kaikala Satyanarayana Garu. He was popular across generations for his remarkable acting skills and diverse roles. My thoughts are with his family and admirers. Om Shanti," the Prime Minister tweeted.

Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan and Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, Andhra Pradesh Governor Biswabhusan Harichandan and Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya, several other leaders, and many film personalities too condoled the death of Satyanarayana.

CM KCR along with his party leaders visited the residence of Satyanarayana and placed a wreath on the body of the departed soul. He also consoled the family members of Satyanarayana.

KCR proceeded to recall his friendship with the actor, and said that Satyanarayana had endeared himself to Telugu people with his innate ability to play any type of character. He termed Satyanarayana's death as an irreparable loss to the Telugu film industry.

The Chief Minister also directed Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar to conduct the cremation of the veteran actor with State honours.