Overview

• Leading Tollywood figures including Chiranjeevi, Pawan Kalyan and SS Rajamouli attended his funeral at his Filmnagar residence.
• Tributes flowed from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union ministers and state chief ministers who highlighted his versatility and public service.
• Fans and peers shared anecdotes on social platforms celebrating his mastery of dialects and memorable dialogue delivery.
• Over a four-decade career he appeared in more than 750 films across Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Hindi and Malayalam.
• His accolades included nine Nandi Awards, the Padma Shri in 2015 and a tenure as BJP MLA for Vijayawada East from 1999 to 2004.