Veteran Kannada actor ‘Kalatapasvi’ Rajesh passed away in Bengaluru today due to respiratory and age-related ailments. He was 89.
The popular actor, who won several film awards throughout his career, was admitted to a private hospital in Bengaluru on February 9 after he complained of breathing related issues. He was kept on a ventilator there; however, his health deteriorated this morning.
Born in Bangalore on April 15, 1932, he entered the cinema world in the 1960s and rose to popularity as Kalatapasvi Rajesh in the Kannada film industry. Rajesh, who had acted in over 150 films, was awarded the Dr. Rajkumar Cultural Endowment Award by the Kannada Sahitya Parishat in 2014.
‘Kalatapasvi’ Rajesh was the father of Aasha Rani and the father-in-law of popular Kannada and Tamil actor Arjun Sarja.