Veteran Sandalwood actor Shani Mahadeveppa breathed his last on Sunday night at the age of 88.
As per reports, the actor was admitted at the K C General Hospital in Bengaluru and was suffering from age-related ailments for a while. He is also reported to have been recently diagnosed with COVID-19 a week ago, after which he was hospitalised.
Mahadevappa is survived by his wife, daughter and son.
The actor’s son, son Gurukumar told a leading daily that Mahadevappa was admitted to the K C General Hospital after he developed breathing complications. He was being treated in the ICU. “Initial tests showed that he was negative for coronavirus, but he later tested positive, He was being treated for the same but failed to respond to the treatment,” he said.
Shani Mahadevappa, who was born in 1933 in Mandya, has acted in over 380 films over the course of his career. He debuted in the Sandalwood industry in 1962. He became close friends with legendary actor Dr Rajkumar and the two starred together in many films including “Shankar Guru”, “Kavirathna Kalidasa”, “Bhaktha Kumbara”, “Sri Srinivasa Kalyana”, “Thrimurthy”, “Premada Kanike” etc.
The veteran actor came to be known as “Shani” Mahadevappa after his role in the play “Shaneeshwara Mahatme” was well received.
His death was mourned by many of Sandalwood’s stars including Puneeth Rajkumar and Kichcha Sudeep.
According to official sources, the last rites were performed on Monday at the Sumanahalli crematorium in Bengaluru.
“Shani Mahadevappa, a veteran actor who has acted in many films, along with Appaji, Bhakta Kumbara, Srinivasa Kalyana and Kavirat’s Kalidasa passed away. RIP (sic),” Puneeth tweeted.
?????????? ???? ???? ??????, ????????? ??????, ??????? ???????, ??????? ??????? ???????? ???? ??????????? ?????? ????? ????? ??? ???????????? ???????? ??????????. RIP
— Puneeth Rajkumar (@PuneethRajkumar) January 3, 2021
— Kichcha Sudeepa (@KicchaSudeep) January 3, 2021
The actor’s last rites were performed at the Sumanahalli crematorium in Bengaluru on Monday, as per official sources.
