Veteran Telugu actor and former MLA Kota Srinivasa Rao passed away in the early hours of Sunday at his residence in Hyderabad’s Filmnagar. He was 83 and had been battling age related health issues, his family confirmed.
Condolences poured in from political leaders and film personalities alike. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Telangana CM A. Revanth Reddy, Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan, and members of the film fraternity expressed grief.
Chandrababu Naidu tweeted, “The demise of the renowned actor Kota Srinivasa Rao, who won the affection of cinema audiences with his versatile roles, is deeply saddening. His artistic contributions to the fields of cinema and theatre over nearly four decades, and the roles he portrayed, will remain unforgettable. The numerous memorable roles he played as a villain and character artist will forever stay etched in the hearts of Telugu audiences. His passing is an irreparable loss to the Telugu film industry. In 1999, he won as an MLA from Vijayawada and served the public. I express my profound condolences to his family members.”
Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu tweets, "The demise of the renowned actor Kota Srinivasa Rao, who won the affection of cinema audiences with his versatile roles, is deeply saddening. His artistic contributions to the fields of cinema and theatre over nearly four decades,… pic.twitter.com/1UlUzaNaMG
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Kota Srinivasa Rao left an indelible mark across Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Kannada, and Malayalam cinema. He made his Telugu film debut with the 1978 release Pranam Khareedu. And appeared in over 750 films, including 30 in Tamil, 10 in Hindi, 8 in Kannada, and one in Malayalam. His final on screen appearance was in Suvarna Sundari (2023).
He was the recipient of nine Nandi Awards, and in 2015, he was honoured with the Padma Shri by then-President Pranab Mukherjee. Apart from acting, Kota had also lent his voice to a few songs in Telugu cinema.
He served as a BJP MLA from Vijayawada East from 1999 to 2004.
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