Veteran Telugu actor Geetanjali passed away in the early hours of 31 October. The 72-year-old suffered cardiac arrest while under the care of a private hospital in Film Nagar in Hyderabad.
Born in Kakinada as Mani, the actor made her Tollywood debut in the early 60s. She was introduced by actor-politician Jr NTR in his 1961 directorial Seetharama Kalyanam, in which she played the role of Sita. In 1963, she was rechristened Geetanjali by the makers of Parasmani, which was produced by Lakshmikant and Pyarelal. She went on to star in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi films over a six-decade-long career.
Geetanjali shared screen space with veterans such as Akkineni Nageswara Rao, MG Ramachandran and Gemini Ganesan. Some of her most popular films include Dr Chakravarthy, Murali Krishna, Abbayigaru Ammayigaru, Kaalam Marindi, Gudachari 116 and Sambarala Rambabu.
Geetanjali was married to Tollywood actor Ramakrishna, who passed away in 2001. After taking a break post marriage, she returned to acting in the early 90s. Her last appearance was in That Is Mahalakshmi, a Telugu remake of Bollywood hit Queen starring Tamannaah Bhatia. She is survived by son Adith Srinivas, who is also an actor.
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