Telugu film producer Mahesh Koneru passes away

Mahesh Koneru was a close associate of NTR and Kalyan Ram, and produced films such as ‘118’, ‘Miss India’ and ‘Thimmarusu’

Members of the Telugu film fraternity took to social media to mourn the loss of former film journalist and producer Mahesh Koneru, who passed away in Vizag following a cardiac arrest in the early hours of October 12.

Koneru worked as a reporter and reviewer for the website 123Telugu.com before he handled the publicity of high-profile films such as S S Rajamouli’s Baahubali. He then turned to film production and produced films such as 118 starring Kalyan Ram, Miss India starring Keerthy Suresh and the Satya Dev starrer Thimmarusu under East Coast Productions. He also distributed the Telugu dubbed versions of actor Vijay’s Tamil films Bigil and Master in the Telugu states.

Koneru was a close associate of NTR and Kalyan Ram. NTR tweeted: “With the heaviest of heart and in utter disbelief, I am letting you all know that my dearest friend @SMKoneru is no more. I am shell shocked and speechless. My sincere condolences to his family and near and dear.” Kalyan Ram tweeted that Koneru’s passing is a huge loss to him and the Telugu film industry.