Kannada film actor Chiranjeevi Sarja (39) died in a Bengaluru hospital on Sunday afternoon due to cardiac arrest. He had been rushed to the Apollo hospital in Jayanagar in an unresponsive state after he complained of breathlessness.
Chiranjeevi (Chiru) was the grandson of veteran Kannada actor Shakti Prasad and nephew of multi-lingual star Arjun Sarja. Two years back, Chiranjeevi had married south Indian actress Meghana Raj, daughter of the star-couple Dr Sunder Raj and Pramila Joshai.
The couple was expecting their first child when the tragedy struck the family. His younger brother Dhruva Sarja and niece Aishwarya Arjun are among Sandalwood's new generation of actors.
The Sarja family is well-known in the south Indian film industry. Its patriarch late Shakti Prasad alias J. C. Ramaswamy had acted (mostly as villain) in about 200 films including landmark films such as Immadi Pulikeshi (1967), Mayura (1975), Babruvaahana (1977) and Antha (1981). He passed away in 1986.
Prasad hailed from Jakkenahalli village in Madhugiri taluk of Tumkur district and was married to Lakshmi Devi. Of the couple's three children— Kishore, Arjun and Ammanni—the eldest son Kishore died in 2009. The Sarja family, ardent devotees of Lord Hanuman, is settled in Bengaluru but visits the family home in Jakkenahalli during festivities.
Kishore started his film career as an assistant director in Kannada films before he debuted as a director with Alimayya produced by KCN Kumar. His younger brother Arjun was the hero in the film. Kishore had directed films like Bhava Bhaimada, Thuttha Muttha, Jodi, Makkala Saakshi starring top stars like Shivarajkumar and Ramesh Arvind. He is survived by his wife and a son.
The most successful of the Sarjas— Arjun Sarja (55) alias Srinivasa Sarja, is a multi-lingual star who has acted in 150 films including Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi movies. His success in Tamil industry has earned him the title "Action King" and is into film direction, production and distribution too. He is married to veteran Kannada actor Rajesh's daughter Niveditha, a former actress (Asha Rani) and has two daughters Aishwarya and Anjana.
Arjun who got noticed with Tamil blockbuster Gentleman (1993) and also won the State Film Award for best actor, also has hits like Jai Hind and Karna. Arjun won acclaim for Kurudhipunal (1995) which became India's official entry for the 68th Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category. Vismaya Nibunan was his 150th film.
Chiranjeevi Sarja, the eldest son of Vijay Kumar (a BMTC employee) and Ammanni, studied in Baldwin's school in Bengaluru. He chose to do films like his maternal grandfather and uncles. He was launched by his maternal uncle late Kishor Sarja in 2007, in Vayuputra and he evolved as an action hero. Shivarjuna was released just before the COVID-19-induced lockdown.
Chiranjeevi has acted in 22 films including Vayuputra, Gandede, Chirru, Dandam Dashagunam, Kempe Gowda, Varadanayaka, Whistle, Chandralekha, Ajith, Rudra Thandava, Aatagara, Ram Leela, Samhaara, Amma I Love You, Singhaa, Khaaki, Aadyaa and Shivarjuna. He had four films in production— Rajamarthanda, April, Ranam and Kshatriya.
Chiranjeevi's younger brother Dhruva Sarja (31) is an action hero who debuted in blockbuster film Addhuri (2012) and gave consecutive hits Bahaddur(2013) and Bharjari(2017). His latest flick Pogaru is awaiting release.
Chiranjeevi’s wife Meghana Raj (30), a multi-lingual actor made her debut in 2009 with the Telugu film Bendu Apparao R.M.P., which was followed by Punda (Kannada), Kaadal Solla Vandhen (Tamil). Her first Malayalam project was the horror film Yakshiyum Njanum, directed by Vinayan and released in 2010. Another film Beautiful earned her critical acclaim. Some of her hit flicks include Memories ((Malayalam), Rajahuli, Bahuparaak and Aatagara (Kannada). In 2018, she won the Karnataka State Film Award for Best Actress for Iruvudellava Bittu.
Chiranjeevi's last rites will be performed at his younger brother Dhruva's farmhouse on Kanakapura road.
