Veteran actor Krishna, Mahesh Babu’s father, dies at 80
Veteran actor Krishna, known in the Telugu film industry as ‘Superstar’, died on Tuesday in Hyderabad, a day after he was hospitalised. Krishna was also the father of popular actor Mahesh Babu.
Taking to Twitter, actor Nikhil Siddhartha shared a post. He wrote, “This is Heart Breaking. Our SUPERSTAR KRISHNA Garu is no more. Legend Icon and Inspiration for Generations …. We will all Miss You sir. Praying for strength to the family @ManjulaOfficial, @urstrulyMahesh sir. May god be with you in this Testing time.”
Former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu tweeted, “The death of actor and former MP Krishna Gari, who was called a good man, producer’s hero, actor and superstar in the Telugu film industry, has shocked. Krishnagari is said to be an actor, director and adventurer who introduced the first technology to Telugu cinema.”
He also added, “With Krishnagari’s death, a wonderful film era seems to have ended. Mahesh Babu, who recently lost his mother and now his father too, is suffering. Wishing God to give him the courage to recover from this pain soon… I express my deepest sympathy to his family members.”
Krishna, whose full name is Ghattamnaneni Siva Rama Krishna Murthy, was undergoing treatment at Continental Hospital in Hyderabad, as per news agency ANI. Earlier, PR and Marketing executive Vamsi Shekhar took to Twitter and shared a statement from the hospital.
“Midnight, he came in an emergency to the hospital in an unconscious state. We have done CPR for cardiac arrest, then we shifted to ICU and he is stable right now. Doctors and a team of cardiologists are regularly following his health. As of now, we can’t say what the outcome will be. We are providing the best treatment. In the next 24 hours, we will get better information about his health,” the doctors were quoted as saying.
Krishna was a former actor, director and producer known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema. In a film career spanning five decades, he starred in more than 350 films. Krishna debuted as a lead actor with the 1965 film Thene Manasulu and went on to star in films such as Sakshi, Pandanti Kapuram, Gudachari 116, James Bond 777, Agent Gopi among many others.
He is credited with producing many technological firsts in the Telugu film industry such as the first Cinemascope film – Alluri Seetharama Raju (1974), the first Eastmancolor film – Eenadu (1982), the first 70mm film – Simhasanam (1986), the first DTS film – Telugu Veera Levara (1995) and introducing cowboy genre to the Telugu screen.
Mahesh Babu’s mother Indira Devi died in September this year and his elder brother Ramesh Babu died in January.