Yashwant Sardeshpande, a popular Kannada veteran theatre artist, director, and dialogue writer, died today due to a sudden heart attack.
The filmmaker was 60 years old.
Sardeshpande was still active in theatre performances before he died. He performed a play in Dharwad on Sunday evening and travelled to Bengaluru early on Monday. It was after arriving that he complained of chest pain and collapsed. He was declared dead at Fortis Hospital at around 10 am.
Union Minister Pralhad Joshi said on social media. "It is with great sadness that we learn about the passing away of our Hubballi native, Yashwant Sardeshpande, a renowned Kannada theatre actor, a very popular playwright who acted and directed in many plays across the state. His play All the Best was an unprecedented success. He also acted in television and films."
Who was Yaswant Sardeshpande?
Yaswant Sardeshpande was born in Ukkali, Vijayapura district, Karnataka. He started acting early in theatre performances. Later, he received formal training at the renowned Ninasam Theater School in Heggodu.
In his early days, he and other Ninasam graduates founded the theatre troupe Guru Samsthe in Hubbali. He broke through the scene with the play 'All the Best', a Kannada adaptation of a Marathi play. The show was performed over 500 times across Karnataka and overseas.
Sardeshpande rose to fame on TV after acting in Rama Shyama Bhama, which starred Kamal Hassan and Arvind.
After that, he directed and acted in many plays, especially of the comedy genre. He had also built a theater school and mentored young talent in Hubbali.
He is survived by his wife, Malathi Sardeshpande, who is also a prominent theater and television artist who was part of the troupe playing All the Best.
Along with the Union minister, former Chief Ministers Jagadish Shettar and Basavaraj Bommai, and Karnataka Legislative Council Chairperson Basavaraj Horatti all expressed their condolences on social media.
