Tollywood Registers Its First COVID-19 Casualty; Producer Rama Rao Dies

HYDERABAD: Even as Tollywood and Telugu television industry are grappling with the coronavirus pandemic, the industry as a whole recorded its first death due to COVID-19. In a tragic turn of events, Tollywood producer Pokuri Rama Rao died of the dreaded virus here on Friday evening. The 64-year-old producer was incidentally the brother of Pokuri Babu Rao, the promoter of Eetharam films.

Since the time he tested positive for coronavirus, Rama Rao was being treated at a city hospital. But with his condition worsening, he breathed his last succumbing to the killer illness on Friday evening. Rama Rao acted as a presenter for all the films made under the Eetharam Films banner by his brother Pokuri Babu Rao.

On the other hand, the Telugu television industry was severely hit by COVID-19 as several celebrities were infected with the virus in the last few days. Noted among them are Bigg Boss Season 3 fame Ravi Krishna, Navya Swamy, Prabhakar, Rajasekhar and Sakshi Siva.

Among the Tollywood biggies, comedian-turned-producer Bandla Ganesh was speculated to have been infected with the dreaded virus a few days back. He was said to be undergoing treatment under home quarantine at an undisclosed location.

Ganesh, it is learnt, has recently visited a hair clinic seeking a hair plantation done. But the doctors advised him to go through the mandatory test for COVID-19 as part of the government guidelines.  The test result reportedly came like a bolt from the blue to the maverick producer as he tested positive for coronavirus.