Veteran Telugu actor Kaikala Satyanarayana dies at 87

HYDERABAD: Veteran Telugu actor Kaikala Satyanarayana, known for his villain and other versatile character roles, passed away here on Friday due to age-related ailments. He was 87.

Satyanarayana, who acted in over 700 films in a career spanning six decades, had been unwell for sometime and the end came on Friday morning at his residence here, film industry sources said.

Satyanarayana, who started his career in the late 1950s, made a mark for himself with his villain roles in the films of legendary N T Rama Rao and later actors Chiranjeevi, Balakrishna, Venkatesh and Nagarjuna.

The veteran actor made a mark for himself in Telugu films with the role of Lord Yama as he played the character in several films, including NTR's 'Yama Gola' (1977) and 'Yama Leela' (1994).

Satyanarayana is widely known for playing different roles such as villain, character artiste, comedian and others with ease.

He had a brief stint in politics, serving as a Member of Parliament representing Telugu Desam Party (TDP).

Some of his memorable performances came in films, including 'Pandava Vanavasam', Akkineni Nageswara Rao's 'Prem Nagar', Chiranjeevi's 'Gang Leader', Balakrishna's 'Samarasimha Reddy', 'Sutradharulu' directed by legendary K Viswanath and 'Brundavanam'.

Former Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, his Andhra Pradesh counterpart Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy and several other leaders and film personalities condoled the death of Satyanarayana.

Megastar Chiranjeevi, who shared a special bond with Satyanarayana, penned an emotional tribute on Twitter to the departed soul.

Expressing grief over the demise, Chiranjeevi said no other actor in India had played versatile roles as Satyanarayana did. He recalled visiting Satyanarayana's residence on the latter's birthday this year.

Chiranjeevi, top Telugu stars Pawan Kalyan, Venkatesh, veteran director K Raghavendra Rao and a number of other film personalities visited Satyanarayana's residence and paid their last respects to him.

Telangana Chief Minister Rao, who also visited Satyanarayana's residence and paid homage to him, directed that the departed actor's funeral be conducted with official honours.

The funeral would take place in Hyderabad on Saturday, family members told reporters.