Krishna, who was popularly known as Telugu cinema’s first superstar, was the father of actor Mahesh Babu. The Telugu Film Producers Council has announced that all film-related activities will be canceled on Wednesday and the industry will be closed as a mark of respect for late actor Ghattamaneni Krishna. The 79-year-old actor died on Tuesday, a day after he was hospitalised following a cardiac arrest.
Sharing the statement, PRO Vamsi Shekar tweeted, “Telugu film industry will remain closed tomorrow (Wednesday) as a mark of respect to Superstar #KrishnaGaru(sic).” The last rites of Krishna will be performed on Wednesday with full state honors.
Krishna’s funeral was held in Nanakramguda in Hyderabad with a number of family members and celebrities paying their last respects. Chiranjeevi, Vijay Devarakonda, Mohan Babu, Allu Arjun, Ram Charan and Jr NTR were present at the funeral. Other actors who were also present include Rana Daggubati, Prabhas, D Suresh Babu and Naga Chaitanya.
Following his father’s demise, Mahesh Babu and his wife Namrata released a statement. The statement read, “It is with the deepest grief that we inform you of the passing of our dearest Krishna garu. He was a superstar in so many ways beyond the movie screen… guided by love, humility and compassion. He will live on through his work, through us, and the many lives he influenced. He loved us more than anything and we will miss him more with each passing day… but as they say, goodbyes aren’t forever. Until we meet again… – THE GHATTAMANENI FAMILY.”
A prolific actor, Krishna was also a successful director and producer. Krishna made his debut as a lead actor with the 1965 film Thene Manasulu and went on to star in films such as Sakshi, Pandanti Kapuram, Goodachari 116, James Bond 777, Agent Gopi among many others. His last on-screen appearance was in the 2016 Telugu film, Sri Sri. He had worked in over 350 films in a career spanning over four decades. He was conferred with the coveted Padma Bhushan in the year 2009.