Popular Telugu comedian Venu Madhav, known for his rib-tickling performances in films like 'Chatrapati' and 'Sye', died in Hyderabad on Wednesday.
He was 39.
Venu Madhav, who was suffering from multiple ailments, including chronic liver cirrhosis, breathed his last at 12.21am at a private hospital on Wednesday, sources at the hospital said.
Madhav, also an acclaimed mimicry artist, made his debut in the film 'Sampradayam'. He went on to act in more than 600 films, veteran comedian Ali said.
Some of the actors he’s worked with include Mahesh Babu, Prabhas, Allu Arjun, Junior NTR. He has starred in several films including Junior NTR’s “Brindavanam”, Prabhas’s “Chatrapati”, Ravi Teja’s “Kick”. He also starred alongside Chiranjeevi in “Shankar Dada MBBS”, “Andarivaadu”, and “Jai Chiranjeeva”.
Venu Madhav was last seen in the 2016 Telugu film “Students Gang”.
Expressing grief over the demise of Venu Madhav, Telugu Desam Party chief and former chief minister of Andhra Pradesh N. Chandrababu Naidu said the departed actor liked the party and its founder N.T. Rama Rao a lot.
His mimicry performance at TDP's party conclave 'Mahanadu' had won appreciation from the late NTR, Naidu said.
Venu Madhav's demise is a great loss to the TDP and the Telugu film industry, he said.
Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, state Congress president and MP N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, actor-turned-politician and Jana Sena Party founder Pawan Kumar and several other leaders condoled the death of Venu Madhav.
He had a great fan following, Rao said.
Venu Madhav, who belongs to Kodad in Suryapet district, is the pride of Telangana, Uttam Kumar Reddy said.
"He (Madhav) has a very good sense of timing as a comedian," Pawan Kalyan, younger brother of megastar Chiranjeevi, said in a release.
