Sirivennela Seetharama Sastry dies at 66, Chiranjeevi & other actors pay last respects

Lyricist Sirivennela Seetharama Sastry passed away on November 30 after being admitted to the hospital on November 24 with pneumonia and spending time in the ICU. The veteran lyricist mortal remains were laid to rest in Hyderabad on Wednesday. Several prominent figures from the industry like Chiranjeevi, Mahesh Babu, Allu Arjun and more visited the crematorium site to pay their tributes. 

Sirivennela Seetharama Sastry laid to rest

Sirivennela Seetharama Sastry's mortal remains were laid to rest on Wednesday at Hyderabad, his son lit the funeral pyre. Top actors from the industry, including Chiranjeevi, Nagarjuna, Pawan Kalyan, Allu Arjun, Mahesh Babu, renowned director S S Rajamouli visited the crematorium and others paid tributes to the late lyricist.

Several actors and politicians mourned the renowned lyricist's death, actor Ram Charan took to his Twitter and wrote, "Shocked and saddened to know about the passing of Sirivennela Seetarama Sastry Garu. His precious words for RRR and Sye Raa are etched in my memory forever. His contributions to literature and Telugu Cinema is unparalleled. My deepest condolences to his family." 

Actor Siddharth also penned down an emotional note as he thanked the late legend for teaching him how to read Telugu when he was learning the language for his first film. Calling him a 'legendary mind' he wrote, "I was blessed to be blessed by Sirivennela Seetharama Sastry garu. When I was learning Telugu before my first film, he taught me how to read poetry and I thank him for my love for the Telugu language. What a legendary mind. Deepest condolences. RIP Sastry garu."

During his long illustrious career, Sastry garnered several awards including eleven state Nandi Awards and four Filmfare Awards South for his work. He has penned lyrics for over 3000 songs until 2020. In 2019, he was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian award in India, for his contributions to the field of arts and aesthetics. He is considered one of the greatest lyricists in the Telugu Film Industry and most of the younger lyricists like Chandra Bose, Ananth Sreeram and Rama Jogayya Sastri consider him as their guru.

(Image: Twitter/@krishna22kp)