Uday Kiran suicide: Some forces played with his life, Dasari says

• Fans raise anti-Chiru slogans
• Actor cremated, hundreds bid tearful adieu

Hyderabad: Hundreds of fans, admirers and personalities from film fraternity turned up at the Erragadda cremation grounds on Tuesday afternoon where the last rites of actor Uday Kiran, who ended his life on Sunday night, were performed. The funeral pyre was lit by the actor’s father V V K Murthy, with whom the actor had strained relationship for over six years.

Uday Kiran's body was taken from the Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) mortuary at Punjagutta to his residence at Srinagar Colony. It was kept for sometime before being taken to the Film Chamber by his wife Vishitha and other family members.

“It’s a tragic death. When he entered the film world, I thought a handsome guy like Shobhan Babu has come in to entertain the audience. He reached success and enjoyed everything at a young age. The more-than-life stardom that he achieved at 33 years is no ordinary achievement. But, all of a sudden, his downfall started. Some powerful forces in the film industry have played havoc with his life,” Dasari Narayana Rao, veteran Director, remarked.

Interestingly, several agitated fans of the actor raised slogans against Union Minister Chiranjeevi at the crematorium. It went on till the funeral pyre was lit. Some of them demanded that the police include Chiranjeevi’s name in the FIR. “Chiranjeevi’s family destroyed the career of Uday Kiran” they charged.

Uday Kiran’s engagement with Chiranjeevi’s first daughter some years ago was cancelled due to some unknown reasons. A case was filed in Human Rights Commission by a lawyer who blamed Chiranjeevi and four other biggies in the film industry for the death of Uday Kiran. “It was Chiranjeevi, who was behind the fall of Uday’s film career,” the lawyer alleged.

Nannapaneni Rajakumari, TDP MLC, also demanded a thorough inquiry into the death of the actor. “Uday Kiran was not a coward to commit suicide. He was mentally strong and faced many challenges in the past. I suspect some strong reasons behind the death,” she said after paying respects to the departed actor.

Several personalities from the Tollywood including D Rama Naidu, Venkatesh, D Suresh Babu, Srikanth, Shivaji, Tanikella Bharani, Chalapathi Rao, Tammareddy Bharadwaja, MLA Jaya Sudha, Paruchuri Gopalakrishna, Paruchuri Venkateshwara Rao, Shivaji Raja, Anup Reubens, Samudra, Vijay Chander, Kadambari Kiran, Poojitha, Allari Naresh and Banerjee were among those who paid their last respects to the actor.

“I had some rapport with Uday Kiran who was very sensitive and caring. Had he shared with me his problems at least once, this tragedy could have been averted,” Srikanth said.