The Hindu : Karnataka News : Kannada actor Ashwath passes away

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Tuesday, Jan 19, 2010
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Karnataka

Karnataka

Kannada actor Ashwath passes away

Staff Correspondent

He acted in over 370 films in a career spanning five decades

K.S. Ashwath

MYSORE: K.S. Ashwath, octogenarian Kannada film actor, passed away here in the early hours of Monday.

Mr. Ashwath, who acted in over 370 films in a career spanning five decades, had been ailing for a long time and was being treated for vertebro-basilar insufficiency.

He was admitted to the B.M. Hospital here last Monday. He developed multiple-organ failure and died at 2.15 a.m.

Mr. Ashwath is survived by his wife, Sharadamma, and four children.

He was admitted to hospital after he collapsed in the bathroom at his residence in Saraswathipuram on January 1. He was discharged on January 4 after which his family members fulfilled his long-cherished dream of visiting Kashi (Varanasi).

Mr. Ashwath was taken ill on January 11 after his return from Kashi and was shifted to hospital immediately.

Neurologist Gorur Janardhan, who was treating him, told The Hindu that the actor’s condition started deteriorating on Sunday night and that he died of cardiac arrest.

His body was shifted to the J.S.S. Hospital for embalming and was then kept at Javare Gowda Park to enable his admirers to pay their last respects. The last rites were performed with state honours at 4 p.m. at the Harishchandra Ghat near Chamundi Hills. Minister for Large and Medium-scale Industries Murugesh Nirani represented the government at the funeral.

People from all sections of society, including Leelavathi, Vinod Raj, Dwarakish, Hema Choudhary, Raghavendra Rajkumar, Puneet Rajkumar, Ramesh Bhat and Srinath (all from the film industry), and Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly Siddaramaiah and Mysore MP A.H. Vishwanath came to pay their last respects.

The administration declared a holiday for schools and colleges in the district on Monday.

Born in 1925, he had his formal education in Mysore and held a government job for sometime. He participated in the freedom struggle in 1942.

A product of the theatre, it was film director K. Subrahmanyam, who spotted his talent and selected him for a role in “Streerathna.”Ashwath was known for his roles in “Kitturu Chennamma”, “Bhakta Prahlada”, “Gali Gopura”, and “Sarvamangala”, among others.

After acting in over 370 films he voluntarily retired a few years ago. However, Dr. Rajkumar persuaded him return to the sets and he acted in “Shabdavedi.”

Despite his age, he acted in “Bhoopathi” and “Sirivantha” recently.

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