Renowned film comedian Potti Veeraiah, who was born a dwarf, died here of a heart attack on Sunday at the age of 74. He hailed from Phanigiri in Suryapet district. Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao condoled his death.
Veeraiah, whose real name was Gattu Veeraiah and who stood just two feet, acted in more than 500 films in Telugu, Kannada, Tamil and Malayalam. He was attracted to stage plays, drama and films since his childhood. His passion for acting landed him in Chennai where he met film actor Sobhan Babu while working in a shop selling flowers for film sets. On his advice, Veeraiah met director B. Vittalacharya who introduced him to the film world through his ‘Aggi Dora’ produced in 1967.
Later, Veeraiah acted in NTR’s films Aggi Veerudu (1969), Yugandhar (1979) and Gaja Donga (1981). He also acted in Tata Manavadu (1972), Radhamma Pelli (1974) and Jaganmohini (1981) which was directed by Vittalacharya.
In his condolence message, Mr. KCR recalled how Veeraiah entertained cine-goers.
