Kannada actor Vishnuvardhan died of cardiac arrest in Mysore in the wee hours today. He was 59. Vishnuvardhan, whom his fans had fondly awarded the title sahasa simha (brave lion), developed breathing problems at about 2.30 am and he was taken to a private hospital where he breathed his last, sources said.
A versatile actor, Vishnuvardhan was known for his amiable nature and warm-hearted relationship with fellow artistes.
In a career of about four decades, Vishnuvardhan, whose real name was Sampathkumar, was born into a family of artistes on September 18, 1950. His father H L Narayana Rao, was an artist and a script writer.
He was christened Vishnuvardhan on his debut in the film world through Girish Karnad directed Vamshavruksha in 1972.
Besides 197 Kannada films to his credit, Vishnuvardhan acted in other languages too, like ‘Viduthalai’ and ‘Sri Raghavendra’ in Tamil and ‘Kauravar’ in Malayalam with Mammootty. Among his blockbusters were ‘Yajamana’, which is the remake of a Tamil film, and ‘Mungarumale’. He is also a singer and had been of late singing for albums.
The last film in which Vishnuvardhan acted is ‘Aaptha Rakshaka’ which is yet be released and his latest film to hit the screen is ‘Bellary Naaga’. The death of Vishnuvardhan has come as a shock to Kannada film industry as it came a day after a well known composer and singer C Ashwath passed away.