Veteran sandalwood actor 'Shani' Mahadevappa passes away due to COVID-19 complications

Veteran Kannada actor ‘Shani’ Mahadevappa passed away on Sunday due to COVID-19 complications. The actor was 88 years old. According to The Hindu, the octogenarian, who acted in over 380 films as a villain and character artist is survived by his wife and two children. As per sources to the publication, he was suffering from age-related health problems for the last few years and was recently hospitalised after being diagnosed with COVID-19. According to Deccan Herald, Mahadevappa acted in almost all movies of Kannada matinee idol Dr Rajkumar. M Gurukumar, the actor’s son, said Mahadevappa was suffering from liver and kidney ailments for almost a year and was completely bedridden. He added that due to severe cold and cough, he complained of breathing problems a week back and was admitted to the ICU of KC General hospital. While he initially tested negative for coronavirus, his test results came back positive a day later. Some of Mahadevappa’s prominent films include Shankar Guru, Kaviratna Kalidasa, Sri Srinivasa Kalyana, _Shivshanka_r and Guru Brahma. The actor who debuted in films in 1962, became a close friend and colleague of Dr Rajkumar. The actor was born in 1933 in Malavalli, Mandya. His role in the play Shaneeshwara Mahatme brought him immense acclaim and he came to be known as ‘Shani’ Mahadevappa. He essayed the lead role in several plays staged by drama companies, including Gubbi Company, writes The Hindu.