Actor Ashwini, star of more than 110 films, including hits such as Chupulu Kalisina Subhavela and Vivahabhojanambu, passed away in the early hours of Sunday, after suffering from a lung ailment. She was 43. The last rites were conducted in Nellore, her hometown, by her son Karthik.
Making her debut as a child artiste in Bhakta Dhruva Markandeya and growing up to share screen space with Telugu stars, Balakrishna (Bhale Thammudu), Venkatesh (Kaliyuga Pandavulu), Dr Rajasekar (Station Master), Rajendraprasad and Mohan Babu, she was a much sought-after actor in the 1980s and 1990s.
She had acted in 40 Telugu films, besides Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam ones. Veteran producer Rama-naidu, who produced Kaliyuga Pandavulu which also happened to be his son Venkatesh’s debut film, says “Ashwini was a bubbly actor, and although she was played the second lead in our film, she grabbed the attention of viewers.”