Ace Tollywood actor Chalapathi Rao passes away at 78 due to heart attack

Telugu film industry has lost another famous actor. Less than 24 hours after Kaikala Satyanarayana's last rites, another senior actor passed away, leaving the film industry in a state of grief.Senior Tollywood actor Chalapathi Rao breathed his last at his residence this morning due to a heart attack. He was 78. Chalapathi Rao is survived by his wife and two daughters. Suffering from health-related issues for some time, he has also been away from acting. Chalapathi Rao was born in Balliparru, Krishna District, Andhra Pradesh in 1944. He entered the film industry with the encouragement of Sr NTR. Rao made his debut in the film industry with the movie 'Gudachari 116' released in 1966. As a supporting actor and villain in the films of Sr NTR, Krishna, Akkineni Nagarjuna, Chiranjeevi and Venkatesh, Rao received praise from all. Rao starred in more than 600 films in his career spanning over five decades. He also entered production and produced films like 'Kaliyuga Krishnadu', 'Kadapa Reddamma', 'Jagannatakam' 'Pellante Nurella Panta', 'Presidentigari Alludu', 'Ardharatri Hatyalu' and 'Raktham Chindina Raatri.'Chalapathi Rao has a special bond with Sr. NTR. He shared screen space with three generations of actors. He is well-known for his films such as 'Yamagola', 'Yugapurushu', 'Driver Rama', 'Akbar Saleem Anarkali', 'Bhale Krishna', 'Saradha Rama', 'Justice Chaudhary', 'Bobbili Puli', 'Fight with Law', 'Thief Rama', ' Allari Alludu', 'Allari', 'Ninne Pelladata', 'Nuvve Kavali', 'Sinhadri', 'Bunny', 'Bommarillu', 'Arundhati', 'Sinha' and 'Dammu'. He was not seen on the silver screen after last year's release of 'Bangarraju'.His family members said that Chalapathi Rao's last rites will take place after his daughter comes from America. For the unversed, actor-director Ravi Babu is Chalapathi Rao’s son. His mortal remains will be kept at Ravi Babu's house in Banjara Hills for fans to visit till Sunday afternoon to play their last respects. The funeral will be held on Wednesday (December 28) after 3 pm.