Telugu film industry expressed shock and grief at the untimely demise of writer-director Nandyala Ravi, who breathed his last on Friday morning, days after being hospitalised in Hyderabad due to complications related to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
Ravi, who is survived by his wife, daughter and son, was facing financial crisis during his hospitalisation, and was helped by comic actor Saptagiri, who donated ₹one lakh for Ravi’s treatment.
The late writer-director hailed from Saripalli, near Ganapavaram in Andhra Pradesh’s West Godavari district. After initially working as a writer for films like "Nenu Sitamahalakshmi,” Pandem,” “Asadhyudu,” Ravi later ventured into direction with the film, “Lakshmi Rave Ma Intiki”.
Recently, he also worked as a scriptwriter for the film, “Power Play”.
Many Telugu celebrities, including prominent names like Valluripalli Ramesh Babu, KK Radha Mohan, Venugopal Bekkem, Vijay Kumar Konda and Sapthagiri, condoled Ravi's demise.
The Telugu film industry has witnessed the passing away of a number of actors and technicians during the pandemic, including director Akkineni Vinay Kumar, music director KS Chandrasekhar and actor-cum-journalist TNR.