Veteran Kannada filmmaker Joe Simon dies at 80 after suffering heart attack at KFCC meeting

Veteran Kannada filmmaker Joe Simon died of a heart attack at 80. He was at a meeting of Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce when he collapsed.

Veteran Kannada film director and actor Joe Simon died on Friday after a heart attack, news agency PTI reported, citing industry sources. He was 80 years old.

Joe Simon with Rajinikanth in his younger days.

The filmmaker was attending a meeting at the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce in Bengaluru when he suffered a heart attack on Friday afternoon. According to reports, he was rushed to the hospital but was pronounced dead at around 4.30 pm.

Joe Simon dies

Simon suffered a cardiac arrest at the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce in Bengaluru, where he had attended a meeting this afternoon. The Times of India reported that Joe Simon was actively participating, offering suggestions and discussing future plans in the meeting, and even proposed that a celebratory programme be organised. However, moments later, he collapsed. A person present at the meeting told the publication, “Shortly after stepping out of the meeting hall, he went and sat on the attendant's chair, and he suddenly collapsed; it was a severe cardiac arrest.”

Tributes pour in

In a career that spanned decades, Joe Simon had directed several popular Kannada films, including Sahasa Simha, Snehada Kadalalli, Simha Jodi, and Mr Vasu. Simon had also served as the Vice President of the Kannada Film Directors Association.

Tributes poured in from both the world of cinema and politics. Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar described Simon's death as an "irreparable loss" to the Kannada film industry.

“It is saddening that renowned Kannada film director Joe Simon has passed away due to a heart attack. Joe Simon, who hailed from Mandya and had been active in the Kannada film industry for decades, worked in more than 100 films as an actor, director, and lyricist. His demise is an irreparable loss to the Kannada film industry. I pray that God grants eternal peace to his soul and gives strength to his family to bear this pain. Om Shanti,” Shivakumar wrote on X in Kannada.

Expressing grief over his passing, Leader of Opposition R Ashoka recalled Simon's contribution as an actor, director, and dialogue writer, highlighting his successful films, including Vishnuvardhan's Sahasa Simha.