Kannada actor Chiranjeevi Sarja dies of cardiac arrest at 39

Popular Kannada actor Chiranjeevi Sarja died on Sunday at a private hospital in Bengaluru of cardiac arrest. He was 39.

According to a report in the Deccan Herald newspaper, Chiranjeevi Sarja complained of breathlessness and severe chest pain on Saturday. On Sunday afternoon, he was rushed to hospital in an unresponsive state. But doctors were unable to revive him.

The actor is survived by his wife, actress Meghana Raj. The couple dated each other for a while before getting married two years ago.

Several film personalities took to Twitter to express their shock and condolences over Chiranjeevi’s sudden death.

Actress Sanjjanaa Galrani tweeted: “Cannot believe and I’m in immense shocking state of mind to know that Chiranjeevi Sarja is no more, very saddening, my condolences to his family and Meghana Raj at this time of pain and sorrow. Cannot yet digest this fact, my hands are shivering as I write this msg (sic).”

Priyamani tweeted: “Shocked to hear about Chiranjeevi Sarja‘s demise!!! Can never forget his smiling face. My deepest condolences to the whole family (sic).”

Actor Sai Kumar tweeted: "Shocked and unbelievable! Deeply saddened by untimely demise of Chiranjeevi Sarja. My condolences to family and friends (sic).”

The actor had made his debut with the 2009 Kannada film Vayaputra. Nephew of popular Southern actor Arjun Sarja and grandson of veteran actor Shakti Prasad, he had starred in over 20 films.

Chiranjeevi Sarja's last release was the Kannada action-drama Shivarjuna (2020), which was released earlier this year. Among his other popular films were Varadanayaka, Whistle, Ram-Leela, Bhajari and Khaki.