Malayalam television and film actor KN Jagannadha Varma, who rose to fame with his performances as a senior police officer, judge, priest and bureaucrat in many movies, passed away on Tuesday, December 20. He was 77.
Complete list: Celebrity deaths 2016
The accomplished Kathakali artiste and a percussionist breathed his last at 8 am in a private hospital at Neyyatinkara in Thiruvananthapuram, where he was admitted due to pneumonia. Jagannadha Varma forayed into acting after quitting the Kerala Police Force as Superintendent of Police and made his presence felt in over 500 movies apart from a few television serials.
Some of the notable movies of the actor, who made his debut with the 1978 movie Mattoly, include New Delhi (1987), Oru CBI Diary Kurippu, (1988), No:20 Madras mail (1990), Vietnam Colony (1993), Devasuram (1993), Lelam(1997) and Narashimham (2000), among others, and was last seen onscreen in the 2013 release Dolls.
He is survived by his wife Santha Varma, daughter Priya and son Manu Varma, who is also an actor in Malayalam. Director Viji Thampi is his son-in-law. The details on the funeral ceremony of the veteran actor are yet to be revealed by the family members.
Actor and producer P Dinesh Paniker offered condolences to the versatile actor through a Facebook post on Tuesday. "JAGANNATHA VARMA sir is no more.....He was a great friend of mine despite our differences in age...He used to call me quite often and talk to me in length...Our friendship grew in the 90s when he acted in the films BOXER, KALIVEEDU, MAYILPEELIKKAVU etc all produced by me...He was such a perfect gentleman and a kindhearted human being.
VARMA sir....I will really miss u... [sic]," he posted on social media.
Mollywood celebrities, including Mammootty, Mohanlal, Jayaram and Krishna Prabha, have also paid tribute to Jagannadha Varma.
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