Hyderabad, April 25 : Popular comedian and actor Potti Veeraiah (original name Gattu Veeraiah) passed away at a private hospital here on Sunday due to cardiac arrest.
He was 73 and is survived by two children. His wife Mallika died in 2008.
Born at Phanigiri in Nalgonda district of Telangana, Veeraiah is a dwarf by birth. Despite this, he has acted in more than 500 films, including films in Telugu, Kannada, Tamil and Malayalam languages.
He was introduced to the Telugu film industry through ‘Aggi Veerudu’ directed by Vetalacharya and played a key role in ‘Tata Manavudu’ directed by Dasara Narayanarao and got well recognition in the film industry through this film.
Acting since 1967, Veeraaiah came to prominence playing a dwarf in Vithalacharya’s fantasy movies and other directors, who used to bring out folklore films (Jaanapada Chitraalu), which have several magics.
Some of his prominent films are ‘Jaganmohini’, ‘Yugandhar’, ‘Gaja Donga’, ‘Gola Nagamma’, ‘Radhamma Pelli’, Attagaari Peetanam and Tarzan Sundari.
Indian film fraternity expressed condolences after the news about his death came to light.
In a message, Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao mourned the death of noted Telugu film comedian and recalled that Gattu Veeraiah aka Potti Veeraiah had acted in 500 films in several languages from Vithalacharya’s time to the present and won acclaim from the cinegoers.
The CM conveyed his condolences to members of the bereaved family.(UNI)