Telugu actor J.V. Ramana Murthy dead

Hyderabad, June 23  Popular Telugu actor J.V. Ramana Murthy died in a private hospital here due to cardiac arrest. He was 83.

"He was hospitalized earlier this week due to heart-related ailment. He was finding difficulty in breathing. He passed away on Wednesday night," a source from his family told IANS.

Murthy's tryst with acting began with theatre. He was popular for playing the role of Girisam in the Telugu play "Kanyasulakam", which had also featured his late actor brother J.V. Somayajula.

His first big screen acting stint happened in K.B Tilak's socio-political 1957 Telugu film "MLA". Subsequently, he went on to star in over 75 films. These included "Mangalya Balam", "Batasari", "Maro Charithra", "Siri Siri Muvva" and "Aakali Rajyam" among others.

A recipient of the coveted Nandi Award for his contribution to theatre, his last film was the 2013 Telugu drama, "Thummeda".

He is survived by his son and daughter.