Veteran Malayalam character actor Jagannatha Varma died yesterday morning at a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram, according to hospital sources. He was suffering from age-related illness. The 77-year-old has acted in over 200 films and two dozen TV serials in a career spanning four decades. He was also a kathakali artiste and also doubled up as a percussionist. Varma began his official career in the Kerala police department and retired in as a superintendent of police and after that he was very active in the film industry. Some of his popular films included blockbusters like New Delhi, Ee Sabdam Innathe Sabdam, Yodha and Lelam.