Senior Telugu writer Chilukoti Kasi (Kashi) Viswanath, who is also known for his acting, died of a heart attack, while he was travelling in a train in Khamam on Tuesday.
Check: Details of 20 Telugu celebs, who died in 2015
Chilukoti Kasi Viswanath was travelling on the Lokmanya Tilak Express from Secunderabad to Visakhapatnam, when the incident happened. He reportedly complained of severe pain in his heart near Khammam station. He was immediately rushed to the Government Hospital in Khammam, where he was declared dead. The 69-year-old is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter.
He was born as Silukoti Kasi Visveswara Rao, but his name was changed to Kasi Viswanath by his Telugu teacher during his school days. He studied at Mrs AVN College, was a weightlifter and represented the Andhra University. Besides winning several awards, he went on to become State champion. After completing his education, he worked as an accountant in Visakhapatnam Port Trust.
He began writing in 1968 and his first compliment came in with Rachakonda Viswanatha Sastry visiting his house to congratulate him for his story "O Varsham Kurisina Ratri". He started his filmy career with "Ramayanam Lo Pidakala Veta" in 1980. Later, he went on to write script and dialogues for over 131 movies. He was known for his unique comic quotient in his stories and dialogues.
He worked with ace filmmakers like Dasari Narayana Rao, Relangi Narasimha Rao, Rajachandra and Vijaya Bapineedu. He was also successful as an actor and featured in 52 films. He was honoured with seven Nandi awards - three for his film stories, three for his plays and one for direction.
The Telugu film industry has lost over 20 celebrities in the year 2015 and Chilukoti Kasi Viswanath is the 21st star to enter the list of the film personalities, who died this year. His death has created a big vacuum in the industry. His sudden demise has shocked and saddened many in Film Nagar.
