He breathed his last on Monday, in a private hospital in Hyderabad. “Ayithe OK”, the catchphrase will never be heard again from the actor again.
A theatre artist for a long time, Kondavalasa as he is popularly known in film circles, made a rather late debut in films. In 2002, he was introduced to the Telugu film audience through the role of “Pottiraju” in “Avunu Vall Idharu Ishtapaddaru”, directed by Vamsy.
His body language and inimitable style of dialogue delivery made the character an instant hit. Little did he know that for the next 13 years, he will go on to act with top actors and directors of the industry while tickling the funny bone of Telugu audience.
Kondavalasa, who was born in Srikakulam in the village by the same name, acted in about 70 Telugu movies. He worked in Visakhapatnam Port Trust at Visakhapatnam and took voluntary retirement in year 2000. For the past couple of years, he had cut down on movies owing to health problems. Saddened by the news, Telugu film fraternity condoled the actor’s death.