HYDERABAD: Renowned mimicry artiste V Hari Kishan passed away here on Saturday. The 57-year old artiste, who was undergoing treatment for a kidney ailment, died of cardiac arrest. Born on May 30, 1963, in Eluru, West Godavari, Hari Kishan began mimicry at the age of eight.
He is survived by his wife, daughter and son. Over the years, he rose to fame with his impeccable mimicry skills and inspired several people, including actor Siva Reddy, to follow in his footsteps. He received many awards and also earned the title Sata Kantha Dhvanyanukarana Dureena for mimicking 100 voices in an hour.
He carved a niche for himself by imitating the style, dialogue delivery and voices of Late NT Rama Rao, Akkineni Nage swara Rao, Krishna, Sobhan Babu, Chiranjeevi, Balakrishna, Nagarjuna and Venkatesh among others. His skill to recreate the dinosaur sounds from director Steven Spielberg’s science fiction adventure film Jurassic Park (1993), and several political and sports stalwarts, earned him a special place in the field. He appeared in films like Jayam Manadera (2000), Thotti Gang, Seshu, O Chinadana, Nuvvu Leka Nenu Lenu (2002), Subash Chandra Bose (2005) and Evadaithe Nakenti (2007). He also briefly worked as a lecturer at PSTU. Many celebrities, fans and well-wishers took to social media to express their condolences.