Senior Kannada filmmaker D Rajendra Babu, 62, passed away at his residence in Bhoopasandra in the City, following a cardiac arrest on Sunday morning.
He was suffering from a prolonged illness. He was diabetic and had high blood pressure. His daughter Umashankari, also an actor, said that her mother Sumitra had been to Hyderabad for a film shoot and Babu was alone in the house.
She said at around 9:30 am, her sister Nakshatra called him on his mobile phone and when he did not answer the call, she rushed home only to find him lying on the floor.
Though he was immediately rushed to the nearby M S Ramaiah Hospital, he was declared brought dead. Doctors said that he had suffered a massive heart attack. His last rites were performed in the evening.
Babu had a phenomenal success rate in his heydays. Presently, he was directing the film ‘Aryan,’ with Shivarajkumar in the lead.
He has directed nearly 55 films in Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi. He has directed films with all leading actors of his time like Vishnuvardhan, Ambareesh and Ravichandran. Babu was known for his blockbusters that catered to the family audience.
His films ‘Halunda Tavaru’, ‘Ramachari’, ‘Annayya’, ‘Appaji’, ‘Diggajaru’, ‘Nanu Nanna Hendtheeru’ and ‘Kurubana Rani’ were some of the biggest hits, which are remembered and rewatched even today. Babu started his career as an assistant director for Rajendra Singh Babu and later worked as an assistant for K S R Das and V Somashekar. He made his debut film ‘Jiddu’ in 1984 and never looked back.
He was married to Sumitra, a popular character artiste. He is survived by his two daughters Umashankari and Nakshatra, both of whom have been working as actors in Kannada and Tamil filmdoms and small screen. Babu was awarded the prestigious Puttanna Kanagal Award in 2012, for his contribution to Kannada cinema.
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