Tribute: Mikkilineni passes away

Veteran artiste Mikkilneni Radhakrishnamurthy (94) passed away due to age-related ill health in the early hours of Tuesday, Feb. 22, in Vijayawada. Born at Lingayapalem of Guntur district in 1918, Mikkilneni acted in over 300 films starting with Deeksha (1949) until Bhairava Dweepam (1992). Mikkilineni Radhakrishnamurthy Mikkilineni was an active freedom fighter and was imprisoned five times during the Indian Independence Movement. He was the founding member of the popular  Praja Naatya Mandali and has always been active in stage plays. He wrote several books on stage dramas and arts, such as naTaratnaalu, Andhra naaTakaranga charitra, teluguvaari jaanapadakaLaarUpaalu, prajaapOraaTaala rangasthalam, Andhrula nRtyakaLaavikaasam, and  teluguvaari chalanachitrakaLa. He was also awarded the Kalaprapurna (and honorary doctorate) in 1982 from Andhra University. While Mikkilineni has acted in several social, folkloric, and historical movies also, he holds the record of having donned the most number of mythological roles in films and stage plays. He appeared in over 40 mythological characters including Duryodhana, Dusshasana, Karna, Dharmaraja, Dhritarashtra, Bheeshma, Balarama, Janaka, Indra, Brahma, and so on. His roles in historic films like Tenali Ramakrishna (1956), Palnati Yuddhamu (1966) also won accolades. TeluguCinema.Com wishes that the family of the great multifaceted artiste may recover from the bereavement soon and that his soul shall rest in peace.