Veteran actor Rallapalli passes away

Veteran actor Rallapalli, popularly known for character roles in films such as ‘Anveshana’, ‘Ladies Tailor’, ‘Abhilasha’, ‘Kanchu Kagada’ and ‘Urummadi Batukulu’, is no more. He was most popular character artiste and comedian in the 80’s and 90’s. He was 73.

Rallapalli was undergoing treatment for liver related ailment at Max Cure hospital in Hyderabad. He died of cardiac arrest on Friday evening.

Born in a village in East Godavari district in 1945, Rallapalli Venkata Narasimha Rao began his career in stage plays. ‘Stree’ directed by Pratyagatma was his first film. It was Bapu directed ‘Toorpu Velle Railu’ in 1979 that gave him major recognition and he soon won Nandi award for Best supporting actor in art film ‘Oorummadi Batukulu’. He later featured in altogether 850 films. Directors like Vamshi, Jandhyala and Bapu gave him many memorable roles.

He was recently seen in hit films like ‘Duvvada Jagannadham'. He won total five Nandi awards as character artiste and comedian.