Suffering from respiratory problem, Tollywood Superstar Krishna was admitted to hospital yesterday and he was on ventilator throughout night. He was brought to hospital in an unconscious state but was revived after 20 minutes of CPR. His condition was critical and doctors did their best on their treatment given to the actor. But unfortunately, he breathed his last this morning. He was 79.
Krishna’s son Mahesh Babu and other family members were present at the hospital. Krishna’s death is a great loss to the Telugu Film Industry, as he was one of the main pillars of TFI in 80s and 90s. The entire Film industry is offering their deep condolences to the actor’s sudden demise.
Krishna’s full name is Ghattamaneni Siva Rama Krishna Murthy, and he was popularly known as Krishna. He was born on May 31, 1942 at Burripalem in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh. He entered the Telugu Film Industry in early 1960s with small roles. He debuted as the lead actor with the blockbuster movie Thene Manasulu, released in 1965. He acted in more than 350 films in a career spanning 5 decades. He also directed and produced a few films.
He became one of the most sought after actors with a super hit movie Gudachari 116, a spy film released in 1966. He also acted in nearly 6 James Bond like movies. One of his films Sakshi, which was released in 1967, won critical acclaim at the Tashkent film festival. In 1972, he received a national film award for the film Pandanti Kapuram in the category of best feature film. Krishna is known for many landmark movies like Seetharama Raju(1967), which was a first cinemascope movie, in Telugu, Eenadu (1982), first Eastman color film, and Simhasanam (1986) the first 70 mm film.
Krishna founded Padmalaya studio in 1970 and produced some successful movies under his banner. Superstar Krishna married Indira Devi in the year 1965. They had two sons including Mahesh Babu and three daughters. In 1969, he married actor Vijay Nirmala and he had one son from her. Vijaya Nirmala died in 2019. Krishna was a well-wisher of the former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. He joined the Congress party in 1984. He was elected to Lok Sabha from Eluru in 1989 but lost the election in 1991 from the same constituency. After Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, Krishna stepped out of politics.
Krishna was reported to be depressed since the death of his wife Indira Devi, a couple of months ago. Earlier this year, he also lost his elder son Ramesh Babu. Now, Krishna’s sudden demise remains a dark day in the Telugu film industry. We express our deep condolences to the bereaved family, and his soul may rest in peace.