Veteran Kannada actor Rajesh passes away at 89, K’taka CM and other politicians mourn his demise

Veteran Kannada actor, Rajesh, breathed his last in Bengaluru today. The actor, who was admitted in a private hospital for a week, passed away due to age related ailments. He was 89 at the time of his death.

Several politicians, including Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and former CM Siddaramaiah mourned the actor’s death. Born as Vidyasagar, before Rajesh made his splash into films, he worked as a typist in government offices, and also tried his hand in theaters, and script writing. However, things changed when he was cast in ‘Veera Sankalpa’, his debut film. He applied for leave to shoot for the film, but offers soon started piling on, and he eventually took up acting full time and quit his job.

In his long career, Rajesh has been a part of over 150 films and in the 60s and 70s he also played lead roles. However, he gradually shifted to character roles with age. He has also acted in TV shows. Some of his popular films include ‘Sri Ramanjeneya Yuddha’ and ’Gange Gowri’. ‘Namma Ooru’ which hit the screens in 1968 was one of the films that catapulted Rajesh to fame. In his long career, the actor had been the recipient of several awards. The actor already has a biography called ‘Kalathapasvi Rajesh Athmakathe'. He was also the recipient of the Dr. Rajkumar Cultural Endowment Award by the Kannada Sahitya Parishat in 2014.

The mortal remains of the late actor will be kept at his Vidyaranyapura residence till evening so that friends, family and colleagues can pay their last respects to him. The last rites will be conducted today evening. The actor is survived by five children, including daughter Asha Rani, who was also an actress.