University of Hyderabad has mourned the untimely demise of its alumnus and noted film critic, actor, and Dalit intellectual Kathi Mahesh. Mahesh, 44, who was critically injured in a road mishap near Nellore on June 27. He was shifted to the Apollo Hospitals in Chennai, where he passed away on Saturday, July 10. "We mourn the loss of Kathi Mahesh, MA Communication, Class of 1998-2000. A noted film critic, public intellectual, developmental activist, writer (fiction and non-fiction), translator, actor, and filmmaker, Mahesh gained immense popularity and following in the Telugu public sphere in a very short span of time," according to an official statement issued by the School of Communication from University of Hyderabad on Tuesday.
The media school highlighted that Mahesh presented his ideas in various formats on myriad platforms and said his passion for cinema compelled him to bid farewell to a lucrative career in the development sector, where he worked for globally reputed institutions. The school recollected Mahesh's work as a script consultant for many films, including making the screen adaptation of Bala Gangadhara Tilak's Ooru Chivari Illu (House at the End of the Village) as Edari Varsham, a short film, as well as producing multiple documentaries.
"His work as co-writer for the movie Egise Tarajuvvalu won laurels at many film festivals. It was also the first Telugu movie script to be preserved at the Oscar Library's permanent core collection," the school noted.
The University of Hyderabad alumnus gained much popularity after taking part in the Telugu version of Bigg Boss. He also acted in many Telugu movies.
"Kathi Mahesh, who is arguably the first TV film critic in the Telugu society, will be remembered for many decades to come for his ideological positions and articulations in cultural and political spheres in both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana," the statement said.
Vasuki Belavadi, professor and head of the School of Communication, said that Mahesh was an outspoken person who stood his ground even though some people disliked his views. "A very knowledgeable person, Mahesh was in touch with the department even after he finished his course. We used to see him at our alumni meets without fail. The accident was a shock for us," said Belavadi.
The professors, students, and officials at the media school had hoped that Mahesh would recover with treatment and bounce back to doing what he did best, but that was not the case, unfortunately.
Belavadi said the thing he liked best about Mahesh was his fearlessness, and how he always strived to enjoy his Constitutional rights. "Suppose you make a statement and somebody threatens you, most people get into a shell and withdraw themselves. But Mahesh was not like that. He was totally fearless," he noted.
