Kota Srinivasa Rao, who has acted in South Indian cinema for decades has died at 83, early Sunday morning. He died at 4 am at his home in Film Nagar, Hyderabad. He suffered from complications attributable to age-related health issues.
Kota Srinivasa Rao has no equal in Indian cinema, and especially in Telugu films. He was remarkable for the sheer volume of his acting output; over more than 40 years in film, Rao has acted in more than 750 films in Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, and Kannada. Kota’s acting was sometimes voluntary directionality and sometimes dictative, his delivery of lines was commanding, his acting was expressive, and his voice was unique. When he was young, Kota acted in anything and everything, villains, support characters, comic relief, and everything in between.
Born July 10, 1942 in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, Kota originally wanted to follow his father’s profession of medicine. But destiny had him steer away from medicine towards the stage and film. Kota worked at the State Bank for a time before fully dedicating himself to acting; he was truly a working-class man who didn’t confine himself to the confines of union status to a corporation.
Kota made his Telugu films debut in 1978 with Pranam Khareedu. After that, he never looked back. Using often layered roles, both audiences and critics were impressed by his deeply intense roles that frequently left an indelible mark. The unique combination of theatricality and realism that made up his acting style made him relevant through generations.
Kota’s Tamil cinema debut came in 2003 and later he made his last appearance in Tamil cinema in Kaththadi (2018). His Bollywood debut was with Pratighaat (1987) and last Hindi film was Baaghi (2016). He entered Kannada cinema Lady Commissioner (1997) as his debut and Kabzaa (2023) as his last film.
Kota also worked as a dubbing artist and occasionally sang voicing for songs. A jack-of-all-trades, Kota has won 9 Nandi awards, 1 SIIMA Award, and most prominently, he won the Padma Shri in 2015 one of India’s top civilian awards.
Kota’s public service record is also commendable. Kota served under the BJP and became the MLA for Vijayawada East in the year 1999. He had the same dedication and sincerity to politics like he did to films.
As word of his death broke, tributes from fellow actors, filmmakers, and fans flooded in. The Telugu film community mourns a great loss, as they recall a man that was not just an actor but an institution.
Kota Srinivasa Rao has left an irreplaceable void after he has passed on in Indian Cinema. He will continue to serve as an inspiration for many artists and audiences moving forward.
