Hyderabad: Well-known character artiste Devadas Kanakala, 74, passed away on Friday afternoon at a city hospital. The actor, who was reportedly unwell for some time, is survived by son Rajeev Kanakala and daughter Sri Lakshmi.
Born at Yanam near Puducherry, Devadas Kanakala began his career as a theatre director. But it was as talent-spotter and trainer of actors that he created a niche for himself. Chiranjeevi, Rajnikanth, Raghuvaran, Bhanuchander and Rajendra Prasad are some of the actors who learnt acting under Devadas Kanakala when he worked with the Adyar Film Institute (rechristened M.G.R. Government Film and Television Training Institute) in Chennai. He began his acting career with a small role in 1975 in O Sita Katha. In the 90s, he essayed roles in TV serials as well as in movies. One of his last outing as an actor was in Bharat Ane Nenu starring Mahesh Babu in 2018.
Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao expressed condolences on the passing of veteran actor Devadas Kanakala. In a message, he said the late film actor had trained several individuals in acting through his film institute, and conveyed his heartfelt sympathies to the bereaved family members.
