Noted singer Ramakrishna passes away

HYDERABAD: Well-known singer V Ramakrishna passed away here on Thursday. He was 68 and was under treatment for cancer for nearly a year. Ramakrishna sang as many as 5,000 songs in nearly 200 Telugu films and devotional albums.
Born in Vizianagaram in 1947, Ramakrishna is related to celebrity singer P Susheela. His son Sai Kiran is an actor in Tollywood.“My father was next only to Ghantasala in rendering devotional songs,” Sai Kiran said.
Ramakrishna lent his voice to some big hits in the Telugu film industry for NT Rama Rao, Akkineni Nageshwara Rao, Shobhan Babu and Krishnam Raju among others. The Telugu film industry has expressed shock at his death and film personalities expressed their condolences to the bereaved family.
Films that Ramakrishna sang for include Alluri Seetharamaraju, Sharada, Krishna Veni and Mahakavi Kshetrayya. Encouraged by Ghantasala, Ramakrishna who used to sing for All India Radio, made his playback singing debut in 1972 through the song Vayase Oka Poolathota in the film Vichitra Bandham. Lately, he was also shooting for television serials.