Veteran Telugu actress Shakuntala passes away

Hyderabad: Telugu cinema`s popular actress Telangana Shakuntala, who enthralled the audience essaying villainous and comedy roles during her career spanning more than three decades, died here today following a cardiac arrest.The 63-year-old character artiste made her film debut in 1979 with Telugu movie "Maa Bhoomi" and went on to act in more than 70 films.

The movies she is best remembered for are "Osey Ramulamma", "Nuvvu Nene", "Gulabi", "Lakshmi" and "Okkadu" Shakuntala was rushed from her Kompally residence here to a private hospital, where she was declared "brought dead," in the early hours. She is survived by two children. At ease in both Telangana and Rayalaseema accents, the audience particularly liked her powerful dialogue delivery. Born in Maharashtra, Shakuntala started her career as a stage artiste before foraying into the film industry.