Devadas Kanakala no more

Veteran actor Devadas Kanakala passed away due to prolonged illness at the age of 74. He breathed his last while undergoing treatment at KIMS hospital on Friday. Born on July 30, 1945 at Yanam, Devadas acted in more than 40-odd Telugu movies.

Although he began his career as a director on stage, he showcased his acting talent in Telugu movies. He took training at the Film and Television Institute of India at Pune.

He also founded an acting school and trained stars like Rajinikanth, Chiranjeevi and Rajendra Prasad, Nasser, Raghuvaran along with many others in Telugu film industry.

In fact, Kanakala's grandfather Naidu served as an MLA during the French administration in Yanam.

His son Rajeev Kanakala is a popular actor in Telugu cinema and daughter Sri Lakshmi was also an actor and he is the father-in-law of popular TV anchor Suma.

Devadas Kanakala was seen in movies like 'O Seetha Katha,', 'Siri Siri Muvva,' 'Gorintaku,' 'Chettu Kinda Pleader,', 'Gang Leader,''Ammo Okato Thariku,' 'Manasantha Nuvve,' 'Sriram' and 'Peddababu' and won appreciation for his comic timing in TV series 'Amrutham'.

The veteran actor was last seen in Mahesh Babu's 'Bharat Ane Nenu'. Tollywood is left in deep shock with the sudden demise of tutor-turned-actor.