Veteran Telugu actor Kaikala Satyanarayana passes away at 87

Veteran Telugu actor and former MP Kaikala Satyanarayana died at the age of 87 early on Friday morning at his residence in Hyderabad.

The last rites of Satyanarayana will be performed at Mahaprasthanam crematorium in Jubilee Hills on Saturday, the family members said.

Fondly known as Navarasa Natana Sarvabhouma, Kaikala was born on 25th July 1935 in the Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh. He starred in more than 770 films and has worked with over 200 directors.

Satyanarayana’s passing away comes across as a huge shock to the Telugu film industry. Fans and celebrities have been taking to social media to pay tribute to him.

Nandamuri Kalyanram is one of the first celebrities to pay his last respects to him. He wrote, “Saddened to know about the passing of Kaikala Satyanarayana garu. An absolute legend who immortalised many characters on our Telugu silver screen. Om Shanti (sic).”

Remembering Kaikala’s contributions to the film industry, Ram Charan wrote, “Deeply saddened to hear the demise of Kaikala Satyanarayana Garu.. His contribution to our film industry will be remembered forever!! May his soul rest in peace (sic).”

Calling Kaikala her “most favorite actor”, Anasuya Bharadwaj wrote, Deeply saddened waking up to the news of Kaikala Satyanarayana garu’s demise..He was my most favourite actor as I was growing up..fell in love with him in and as Ghatotkachudu. He will always be remembered for his versatility and his enormous contribution towards TFI..Om Shanti (sic).”

Similarly, director Maruthi took to Twitter to remember the legend.

Kaikala was first noticed by DL Narayana, who offered him a role in his film “Sipayi Koothuru” directed by Changayya in 1959. The film did not perform well at the box office. However, he resembled NTR so much that he played dupe to the actor-politician in several films. NTR then offered a role for Satyanarayana in Apoorva Sahasra Siraccheda Chintamani. He also turned producer and churned-out films, including Kodama Simham, Bangaru Kutumbam, and Muddula Mogudu. Kaikala Satyanarayana won several awards in his career.