Veteran Tollywood actor M. Balayya passes away

Veteran actor and filmmaker M. Balayya passed away on Saturday morning, at the age of 92. The actor’s demise came at his residence in Hyderabad.

Born in 1930, Balayya, an engineering graduate, started his career as an actor with his debut film Ethuku Pai Ethu in 1958. As an actor, he was mostly known for his character roles, especially for portraying keepers of the law. He has shared the screen with stars such as Venkatesh, Nandamuri Balakrishna, Jagapathi Babu and more. Over the course of his career, he has been a part of over 300 films. Balayya’s film career spans over five decades.

Besides his acting career, Balayya had also worked as a producer, writer and director. He established his production banner Amrutha films in 1970, which has produced films such as Sobhan Babu’s Chelleli Kapuram(1971), and Krishna’s Chuttalunnaru Jagratha(1980) and Chiranjeevi’s Oorukichchina Maata(1981). He had received a Nandi award for producing Chelleli Kapuram.

As a director, Balayya had helmed Oorukichchina Maata, starring Chiranjeevi and Sudhakar in lead roles. The film, which was also produced under his banner, won him two Nandi awards, one for his writing as well. His other directorial credits include the films Police Alludu(1994), Nijam Chepthe Nerama(1983), and Pasupu Tadu(1986).

Balayya is also a recipient of the Raghupathi Venkaiah Award in 2010, the Andhra Pradesh state award which honours lifetime achievements in Telugu cinema.

Balayya was married to Mannava Kamaladevi. The couple had three children, Harshalatha, Mohini Latha and M. Thulasi Ramprasad. M. Thulasi Ramprasad is also an actor.