Veteran actor Sarath Babu, known for acting in supporting roles in several Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films, passed away on Monday, May 22, at a private hospital in Hyderabad after battling prolonged illness. The 71-year-old actor was under treatment for multiple organ failure. In a press statement, AIG Hospitals said that Sarath Babu passed away around 1.30 pm on Monday, after being hospitalised for a month. He was brought to the hospital on April 20 in a critical condition with multiple organ failure because of multiple Myeloma — a cancer of the plasma cells — the statement said.
“As an immunocompromised patient, he was under the care of a multidisciplinary team and was supported with a mechanical ventilator for lungs, and dialysis support for kidneys among other therapies. He succumbed to his illness in spite of the best resuscitative measures,” the hospital statement said.
Born in Amadalavalasa town of Andhra Pradesh’s Srikakulam district, Sarath Babu began his acting career with the 1973 Telugu film Rama Rajyam. He later became popular as a Tamil film actor with the 1978 Kamal Haasan-starrer Nizhal Nijamagiradhu. He went on to act in several popular films in Telugu and Tamil.
In Tamil, he was famous for some of his roles in Rajinikanth films, including Mullum Malarum, Annamalai, Muthu, and Baba. He has bagged Nandi awards — presented by Andhra Pradesh government to recognise excellence in Telugu cinema — nine times for best acting in supporting roles. Some of his well-known films in Telugu are Idi Katha Kaadu, Seetakoka Chiluka, Swati Mutyam, and Samsaram Oka Chadarangam. In his career spanning nearly 50 years, he has appeared in more than 200 films. He also acted in the popular ETV Telugu serial Antharangalu.
The actor was last seen in Vasantha Mullai in Tamil, and Pawan Kalyan-starrer Vakeel Saab in Telugu. He has also appeared in the upcoming Telugu film Malli Pelli, starring Naresh and Pavithra Lokesh.
As his health condition began to deteriorate earlier this year, Sarath Babu was initially hospitalised in Chennai in March. Last week, he was admitted to AIG Hospital in Hyderabad, where he was on ventilator support.
Many of his colleagues from the film industry, as well as fans and well-wishers, expressed condolences over his demise.