Veteran Telugu actor Balayya passed away on Saturday at his residence in Hyderabad at the age of 94. Born at Chavupady, the actor completed engineering in Chennai and forayed into acting after a brief stint at the theatre. He made his acting debut with 1958 Telugu ‘Ettuku Pai Ettu’, which was directed by Tapi Chanakya.
The actor has over 300 films to his credit, along with a record as a successful producer and bankrolled films under the banner Amrutha Films which he set up in 1970. As an actor, he was popular for his work in films such as ‘Parvati Kalyanam’, ‘Irugu Porugu’, ‘Bobili Yudham’, ‘Manchi Manishi’, ‘Palnati Yudham’, ‘Bhakta Kannappa’ and ‘Malliswari’ among others.
Several celebrities offered tributes as soon as the news of his death was announced. Nandamuri Balakrishna released a statement mourning Balayya’s death and wrote, “Balayya guru was an incredible actor. He shared the screen space with my father in several films and has also played pivotal roles in my movies. Not only as an actor, but he also proved himself as a filmmaker, storyteller and writer. My family had a good bond with him. Today, knowing about his passing away has deeply hurt all of us. I wish peace for his soul and heartfelt condolence to his family.” He was a recipient of the Raghupathi Venkaiah Award.
