Information and Broadcasting minister Manish Tewari has condoled the passing away of veteran Telugu actor Akkineni Nageswara Rao.
Tewari on Wednesday tweeted: "Had met Nageshwar Rao ji in Hyderabad last January. It was an inspirational experience. His demise is a great loss to the creativity arts. Profound condolences."
Rao passed away on Wednesday early morning at the age of 90.
He was battling cancer for several months, and is survived by three daughters and two sons, one of whom is actor Nagarjuna.
The last rites would be performed tomorrow, and his body will be kept at his Annapurna studios in Hyderabad for people to pay respects.
A recipient of the Dada Saheb Phalke Award, Rao acted in over 250 films during his 75-year acting career, starring in many Telugu and Tamil films.
He made his debut in the Telugu film, Dharmapatni in 1941, after which he starred in prominent films like Maya Bazaar, Premabhishekam, Devadasu, Laila Majnu, among many others.
