A comedian and character artiste with over 200 films to his credit between 1982 and 2009, Suthi Velu is no more. He died of cardiac arrest early on Sunday at his residence in Chennai and is survived by wife Lakshmi Rajyam, three daughters and a son.

He was born Kurumaddali Lakshmi Narasimha Rao on August 7, 1947, but most people have forgotten it because he is famous as ‘Suthi Velu’ only. This name is synonymous with humour that was re-defined by this son of a teacher in every role he essayed.

The man debuted with ‘Mudda Mandaram’ in 1982, but it was his second film ‘Nalugusthambaalaata’ directed by Jandhyala, where he entertained the masses together with Suthi Veerabhadra Rao that turned the spotlight on him. It was in 1982 when he played the role of ‘Suthi’ in ‘Nalugusthambaalaata’ that he got the name ‘Suthi Velu’ (Velu means finger in Telugu, denoting his lean physique). He got a Nandi award for the best supporting actor in ‘Vandemataram’ in 1985.

Interest in acting

At the age of seven, he gave a stage performance, which his father did not like. He did not have a good personality or voice, but due to his interest, he decided to take up acting seriously.

After ‘Mudda Mandaaram,’ he did several films with Jandhyala wielding the megaphone.

Films apart, Suthi Velu worked in several television serials on Doordarshan, ETV and Gemini.

As news of his demise spread, a flood of condolences poured in here.

Condolences

In a press release, Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member K. Chiranjeevi expressed grief, terming it as the loss of a good artiste known for his discipline and punctuality.

He recalled the character Ganapathi in ‘Chantabbayi’, where he had a full-length role with him.

Telugu Desam Party president N. Chandrababu Naidu too condoled the death.