Hyderabad (The Hawk): Veteran Tollywood actor Krishna went away early on Tuesday morning in a Hyderabad hospital while receiving treatment for a heart arrest. He was 79.
One of the last living giants of the Telugu film industry, Superstar Krishna, passed away at Continental Hospital, where he had been brought late Sunday night following a heart arrest.
He was unconscious when brought to the hospitals, but after 20 minutes of CPR, the medics say he was brought back to life. His health was critical, and he was put on a ventilator.
Mahesh Babu, a well-known actor, Krishna's son, and other family members were present at the hospital.
Ghattamaneni Over the course of a five-decade acting career, Siva Rama Krishna Murthy, or Krishna as he was more well known, appeared in more than 350 movies. A couple of the films he directed and produced as well.
Krishna, who was born on May 31st, 1942, in Burripalem, Andhra Pradesh's Guntur district, began his career in movies in the early 1960s with minor roles. With the critically acclaimed 1965 film Thene Manasulu, he made his acting debut as the main character.
The spy movie "Gudacchari 116" from 1966 was a huge success and made Krishna one of the most sought-after actors. Due to his accomplishment, he had offers for 20 movies. He then appeared in at least six films that were similar to James Bond.
The 1967 movie "Sakshi" received favourable reviews at the Tashkent Film Festival. His 1972 Telugu feature film "Pandanti Kapuram" won the national film award for the best Telugu feature that year.
Krishna is credited with a number of important films, including the first cinemascope film in Tollywood, "Alluri Seetharama Raju" (1967), the first Eastman colour film, "Eenadu" (1982), and the first 70 mm film, "Simhasanam" (1986).
In 1970, the superstar created Padmalaya Studio, which went on to make some incredibly popular films.
In 1965, Krishna wed Indira Devi. Mahesh Babu was one of their two sons, and they also had three daughters. He has a son with actress Vijaya Nirmala, whom he wed in 1969. 2019 saw her passing.
Since the passing of his wife Indira Devi in September, the actor was reportedly experiencing depression. He lost his older son Ramesh Babu at the start of this year.
Rahiv Gandhi, the former prime minister, was thought to be friendly with Krishna. He joined the Congress party in 1984 and criticised the Telugu Desam Party and eminent actor N.T. Rama Rao. Krishna had produced a few films that criticised NTR and his administration.
Krishna was chosen to represent Eluru in the Lok Sabha in 1989, however he was defeated in the same district in 1991. Krishna stayed away from politics following Rajiv Gandhi's murder.
In 2003, he won the NTR National Award, among other honours. He received the Padma Bhushan award in 2009 in recognition of his contributions to Indian film.
(Inputs from Agencies)