Telugu actor Uday Kiran kills himself

IANS/Hyderabad

Young Telugu actor Uday Kiran committed suicide here on Sunday night, police said yesterday. Kiran, 33, is survived by his wife Vishita.

Kiran, who acted in 19 films including three Tamil movies, hanged himself in his flat at Srinagar colony around midnight. He was alone at the time. Vishita, who had gone out for a family party, rushed to the flat after he did not respond to her mobile phone calls.

A police officer quoted his wife and other family members as saying he was in deep depression for the last few days as he was not getting any new films.

He refused to attend the birthday of a relative on Sunday night and sent his wife instead.

Vishita grew suspicious when he did not respond to her phone calls. She rushed to the flat where she found him hanging from the ceiling in the gym. With the help of neighbours, she shifted him to hospital.

Family members told the police that he was in touch with a Tamil filmmaker and was waiting for his phone call on Sunday. He became depressed when he did not get the call.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Ashok Kumar told reporters that no suicide note was found.

Investigators questioned the security guard and the actor’s neighbours. They also seized a mobile phone and a laptop and were analysing the data to investigate the cause that may have led to actor’s tragic end.

Born on January 26, 1980, Kiran began his career with the Telugu film Chitram, a romantic-drama in 2000. He had a meteoric rise in the industry as the first movie directed by Teja proved a hit. This was followed by Nuvvu Neenu and Manasantha Nuvve, which were also huge success. The charming hero with romantic image began to be called ‘hat-trick hero’.

In 2001, he bagged Filmfare best actor award and achieved the distinction of being the youngest to get the honour.

But after the initial success, Kiran faced a tough time in both professional and personal life. He was engaged to superstar Chiranjeevi’s elder daughter Sushmita in 2003 but the marriage was called off for unknown reasons.

Kiran’s last Telugu film was Jai Sriram released last year. It was sequel to his earlier movie Sriram.

On October 24, 2012 he married his long-term friend Vishita. He hoped the marriage would bring good luck and revive his career.

Several Telugu film personalities expressed shock over Kiran’s suicide. Those who rushed to the actor’s house include actor Srikant and director Teja.

“Not just Uday Kiran, any actor will get into depression if nobody is signing him,” said Teja, who described him as a soft-spoken actor.

Meanwhile, a lawyer filed a petition in the State Human Rights Commission, seeking direction to the government to order probe into the actor’s suicide. Petitioner Arun Kumar alleged that four families were ruling the Telugu film industry and cited this as the cause for Kiran’s suicide.