Veteran Kannada actor Chandrashekhar passed away in the wee hours of Saturday in Canada.

He is survived by his wife and daughter. He was 63 years old.

Addressing the media in Bengaluru, his daughter Tanya said that her father had suffered a massive cardiac arrest.

“Yesterday night I spoke to him when he was shifted to a hospital. He only said he had a slight pain, but I got a call at around 3:30 am saying he passed away,” Tanya added.

Chandrashekhar shot to fame with the 1973 film Edakallu Guddada Mele, and it was so popular that 'Edakallu' has been stuck to his name.

The veteran actor has acted in over 60 films, and was last seen in 3 Gante 30 Dina 30 second, which released this month.

He moved to Canada in 1984 after getting married to dancer Sheela. The actor reportedly worked as a visa officer with the Indian High Commission in Canada, but continued to work in Kannada films.

Some of his most famous films include Hamsageethe, Sampathige Saval, Raja Nanna Raja, and Shankar Guru. He also acted in the National Award-winning film Vamsha Vriksha in a supporting role. Vamsha Vriksha was directed by BV Karanth and Girish Karnad.

According to reports, he was first noticed and cast by the late Nagendra Rao and Vadiraj as a child artiste in the 1969 film Namma Makkalu. After the film went on to become a success, more offers started coming his way.

He also the helmed a film. In 2004, he made his directorial debut with Poorvapara, which was screened at the Toronto Film Festival. It was the first Kannada film to be screened at the festival.