Veteran Kannada actor Prathima Devi passes away at 88; BS Yediyurappa offers condolences

Veteran Kannada film actress Prathima Devi who had worked in more than 60 movies died at the age of 88 on Tuesday, family sources said. Hailing from the district headquarters town of Udupi in coastal Karnataka, Prathima Devi is survived by her sons S V Rajendra Singh Babu, Sangram Singh, Jayaraj Singh and daughter Vijayalakshmi Singh. According to the family members, she had a habit of sleeping before lunch everyday. On Tuesday too, she was lying on the bed. When her family members tried to wake her up, she did not respond. Believing that she might have lost her consciousness due to old age, the family members rushed her to a hospital where she was declared brought dead. Born as Mohini, the actress adopted the new name Prathima Devi when she made an entry to the silver screen with the movie Krishna Leela at the age of 15. She was married to eminent Kannada film actor, director and producer late Shankar Singh. Some of her prominent movies besides Krishna Leela were Jaganmohini, Nagakanye, Shiva Parvathi and Sri Srinivasa Kalyana. In his condolence message, Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa expressed his deep sorrow. She was one of the towering personalities in the Kannada film industry and the industry has lost a most talented actress in her death, the Chief Minister said in a statement.