This year the Telugu film industry has witnessed shocking deaths of several film personalities. Tollywood suffered major losses with the demise of many veteran as well as young film celebrities in 2014.
Chakri
Music composer Chakri passed away after suffering a massive heart attack. He was only 40 and is survived by his wife and children. According to reports, the music director was having obesity-related ailments. On Monday (16 December), he was unresponsive when his wife tried to wake him. He was taken to a private hospital where he was declared brought dead.
Chakri, who began his film career with Puri Jagannadh's "Bachi," has composed songs for around 85 films. Some of his popular albums include "Simha," "Idiot," "Devadasu" and "Desamuduru" among others.
PJ Sharma
Actor Sai Kumar's father PJ Sharma, who was also a Telugu actor and dubbing artist, passed away on Sunday (13 December). He breathed his last after suffering a heart attack. He was 70 and is survived by his sons and daughters.
PJ Sharma started his film career as a character artiste and some of his popular films include "Athanu" and "Collector Janaki." He has also worked as a dubbing artiste and has lent his voice to more than 500 films. The actor died just a day after his grandson Aadi (Sai Kumar's son) tied the knot in a grand wedding ceremony held in Hyderabad.
Nandamuri Janakiram
Former MP Harikrishna's son and Jr NTR's brother Janakiram died in a fatal car accident on 6 December. His car reportedly rammed into a tractor, which was coming in the wrong direction on the Hyderabad-Vijayawada highway.
Janakiram suffered serious internal injuries and was rushed to a hospital where he was declared dead on arrival.
He was a film producer and has produced Kalyan Ram's "Athanokkade" under the NTR Arts banner. He is survived by his wife and son.
Telangana Shakuntala
Telangana Shakuntala died of a heart attack at her residence on 13 June. The actress suffered a stroke and collapsed at her home. She was taken to a hospital where doctors pronounced her dead on arrival.
Shakuntala was popular for her Telangana accent and for the way she portrayed her roles in films. Some of her notable films include "Okkadu," "Dhool," "Nuvvu Nenu" and "Gangotri" among others.
ANR
Veteran actor Akkineni Nageswara Rao (ANR) passed away in January 2014 after a prolonged illness. The actor was suffering from cancer and his health condition deteriorated in the wee hours of 22 January. He was admitted to the hospital where he breathed his last.
ANR's film career spanned 73 years and he starred in several films in various languages including Tamil, Telugu and Hindi. His last film was "Manam," which brought together three generations of actors from the Akkineni family including Nagarjuna, Naga Chaitanya and Akhil.
Uday Kiran
Actor Uday Kiran committed suicide by hanging on 5 January. According to reports, the actor took the extreme step due to a fading film career, which pushed him into depression.
Uday began his film career with the 2000-release "Chitram," which performed well at the box office. Post the release of "Chitram," the actor had several offers and some of them turned out to be big hits. He was popular for his romantic roles in films.
Bapu
Veteran Telugu film director Bapu passed away following a cardiac arrest in August. He was 80.
Bapu debuted as a director in 1960 and helmed 51 films during his four-decade-long career. Some of his notable films include "Sakshi," "Seetha Kalyanam,", "Mister Pellam" and "Pelli Pusthakam" among others.
