Brahmanandam breaks down as he pays tribute to friend of 40 years, Kota Srinivasa Rao: ‘Cannot come to terms…’

Actor-comedian Brahmanandam spoke to the press on Sunday after paying his respects to close friend, Kota Srinivasa Rao.

Veteran actor-comedian Kota Srinivasa Rao died at age 83 on Sunday in Hyderabad due to an illness. Numerous celebrities, including his close friend Brahmanandam, went to his Filmnagar home to pay their respects. Talking to the press after meeting the grieving family, Brahmanandam broke down while remembering his friend. (Also Read: Prakash Raj pays honest tribute to Kota Srinivasa Rao; talks about his sarcasm: ‘Not everybody liked him…’)

Brahmanandam breaks down while talking about Kota Srinivasa Rao

Brahmanandam couldn't hold back tears as he spoke to the press about one of his closest friends, Kota Srinivasa Rao.

Brahmanandam recollected how there was a time in Tollywood when he, Kota and Babu Mohan would be cast in every film. He said, “Kota Srinivasa Rao and I have acted together in hundreds of films. I don’t need to specifically tell everyone how great an actor he was. There was a decade when Kota, Babu Mohan and I would be in every film made. We worked together 18-20 hours per day.”

While trying to hold back tears, Brahmanandam continued to talk about their friendship and said, “For four decades now, arey orey anukuntu kalisi unnam (we’ve been close friends). Today, I cannot come to terms with Kota’s death. I believe Kota will be alive as long as there’s acting. He is a great man, he is the son of Nataraja, and he would speak without reservations. His death is a void that cannot be replaced.”

Kota Srinivasa Rao is one of the most prolific actors in Tollywood, having also worked in other south Indian languages and Hindi over the years. He began his career with the 1978 film Pranam Khareedu and had since acted with numerous stars, including Chiranjeevi, Krishna, Venkatesh, Mahesh Babu, Jr NTR and others. He scaled back on signing films after the pandemic due to ill health. Having last been seen in the 2023 Kannada film Kabzaa and Suvarna Sundari in Telugu the same year, his last film will be Krish and Jyothi Krisna’s Hari Hara Veera Mallu with Pawan Kalyan. The film will be released on 24 July.