Veteran Telugu film director and former union minister of state for coal and mines Dasari Narayana Rao died on Tuesday evening after prolonged illness.
He was 75 and is survived by two sons and a daughter.
{{/usCountry}}He was 75 and is survived by two sons and a daughter.
{{/usCountry}}Dasari was admitted to a private hospital in Secunderabad four days ago with complaints of renal disorders and was operated upon. However, he suffered multiple organ failure on Tuesday. He breathed his last at 7 pm, after prolonged illness.
Dasari had been facing health-related issues since the past few months. He was admitted to KIMS Hospital in January this year. Following a surgery, he got discharged after undergoing treatment for two months.
Born on May 4, 1942, Dasari was born in Palakollu in West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh. He directed as many as 151 films, and produced 53 films in Telugu and a few in Hindi. He received two National Film Awards, nine state Nandi awards, and four Filmfare awards.
Dasari, who belongs to politically powerful Kapu community in Andhra, entered active politics in early ‘2000 through the Congress party. He was considered to be closer to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and was elected to Rajya Sabha. He became the minister of state for coal in Manmohan Singh government during the UPA-II regime. He faced allegations of irregularities in allotment of coal mines to private companies.
On 11 June 2013, the CBI booked Dasari Narayana Rao for receiving Rs. 2.25 crores from Naveen Jindal in the coal scam. The case is still under investigation.
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