Kannada cinema's comedy giant ‘Mysore’ Srikantayya Umesh dies at age 80 after battle with cancer; fans pay tributes

Veteran Kannada actor Umesh died on Sunday after a bout of hospitalisation due to prolonged illness. Tributes poured in for the actor from fans.

Veteran Kannada actor 'Mysore' Srikantayya Umesh died on Sunday in Bengaluru at the age of 80. The comedy giant, who boasted of a six-decade-long career, had been suffering from cancer for a while now and died after prolonged illness and hospitalisation. Fans took to social media to pay tribute.

Veteran Kannada actor and comedian MS Umesh died in Bengaluru on Sunday.

Umesh dies at age 80

Umesh died on Sunday after he was recently admitted to the hospital, family sources confirmed to PTI. He had been suffering from cancer for a while and breathed his last at the hospital.

As soon as the news broke, fans mourned his death on social media. “M.S. Umesh, the giant of the comedy world in Kannada cinema, has left us all behind. M.S. Umesh, who stepped into the world of colours as the first hero of children's films, acted in 350 films during his successful artistic life spanning 6 decades,” wrote one.

A fan reminisced, “His character in Venkata in Sankata movie was gem. Om Shanti Umesh sir.” Another thanked him for entertaining the audience all these years, writing, “Never deceiving art, breathing life into the roles given to him, making us laugh and smile, Umesh anna, who shone in those days, has bid goodbye to life... His acting will always remain alive.”

JD(S) leader and Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy wrote, “Umesh would make audiences float in a sea of laughter through his fresh humour.”

MS Umesh’s legacy

‘Mysore’ Srikantayya Umesh, popularly known as MS Umesh or simply Umesh, first played the lead in Makkala Rajya (1960) after featuring in several stage shows as a child actor. Born on 24 April 1945 in Mysuru, he was only four when he played a role in Master K Hirannaiah’s theatre group. Despite his silver screen debut, Umesh faced a lull in his career and had to return to the theatre until Katha Sangama (1977).

His portrayal as Thimmarayi in the Munithaayi episode featuring Rajinikanth and Aarathi fetched him multiple laurels, and there was no looking back for him after that. Since then, he gained recognition through films like Nagara Hole (1978), Apoorva Sangama (1984), Shruthi Seridaaga (1987), Neenu Nakkare Haalu Sakkare (1993), and Venkata in Sankata (2007).

Throughout his career, Umesh worked with all the greats, including Rajkumar, Sivaji Ganesan, Vishnu Vardhan, Ambareesh, Srinath, Shankar Nag, Ananth Nag, Arvind Ramesh, B Saroja Devi, and Bharathi.