Kathi Mahesh Kumar (1977/8 – 10 July 2021) was an Indian

film critic Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films and the film medium. In general, film criticism can be divided into two categories: journalistic criticism that appears regularly in newspapers, magazines and other popular mass-media outl ...

and actor working in

Telugu cinema Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Telugu language, widely spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Telugu cinema is based in Film Nagar, ...

. He appeared on the Telugu reality TV show ''

Bigg Boss ''Bigg Boss'' is an Indian reality television game show franchise based on the Dutch reality show '' Big Brother''. It is produced by Endemol Shine India through Viacom18 and Disney Star. Subsequently, the various versions of the show are made ...

''.

Personal life

Kathi Mahesh Kumar hailed from Yellamanda, a village in Chittoor district in Andhra Pradesh. He was born into a

dalit Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold varna system of Hinduism and were seen as forming ...

family and belongs to

Madiga Madiga, also known as Maadiga, Maatangi, Makkalu and Mahadiga, are an artisan community from southern India. They mainly live in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka, with a small minority in Tamil Nadu. Madigas are historic ...

community. He studied at AP Residential School at Gyarampalle near Piler. He studied MA Communication at Hyderabad Central University during 1998–2000. Mahesh was a vocal supporter of

Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy Yeduguri Sandinti Jagan Mohan Reddy (born 21 December 1972) also known as Y. S. Jagan or mononymously Jagan, is an Indian entrepreneur and politician serving as the 17th and current chief minister of Andhra Pradesh since 30 May 2019. He is the ...

and

YSR Congress Party The Yuvajana Shramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP or YCP; ) is an Indian regional political party based in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Its president Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy serves as the state's chief minister. It is currently the fifth la ...

in the past and spoke in favour of Jagan Mohan Reddy in several television debates. He backed YSR Congress Party during the 2021 bye-elections for the

Tirupati Lok Sabha constituency Tirupati Lok Sabha constituency is one of the twenty-five Lok Sabha constituencies of Andhra Pradesh in India. It comprises seven assembly segments and belongs to Tirupati district. Assembly segments The seven Assembly segments of Tirupati ...

Career

Mahesh started his career with ''Edari Varsham,'' based on

Devarakonda Balagangadhara Tilak Devarakonda Balagangadhara Tilak (1 August 1921 – 1 July 1966) was an Indian poet, novelist and short story writer. Early life Tilak was born on 1 August 1921 in the village of Mandapaka in the Tanuku Taluk district. He completed his Inte ...

's story ''Vuri Chivara Illu.'' He was a co-writer of the film '' Minugurulu,'' the "first Telugu script to be preserved in the Oscar Library's permanent core collection" and the first Telugu film to contend for the Academy Awards' best feature film (2014). In his next film, the 2015 romantic comedy ''Pesarattu,'' he used flowcam technology popularized by

Ram Gopal Varma Penmetsa Ram Gopal Varma (born 7 April 1962), often referred to by his initials RGV, is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer, known for his works in Telugu cinema in addition to Hindi, Kannada language films, and television.** * ...

. It was the first crowd funded short film in

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

. He played minor roles in the Telugu movies ''

Hrudaya Kaleyam ''Hrudaya Kaleyam'' is a 2014 Telugu-language parody film directed by Steven Shankar. It stars debutant Adarsh Mandadi in the lead role. The film revolves around Sampoornesh Babu, a petty thief who robs parts in electronic shops and why he robs ...

'' (2014), ''Kiss Kiss Bang Bang'' (2017), and ''

Kobbari Matta ''Kobbari Matta'' () is a 2019 Indian Telugu-language parody film directed by Sai Rajesh and written by Steven Shankar. It stars Sampoornesh Babu portraying roles of three generations- Paparayudu, Pedarayudu, and Androyudu. The film was released ...

'' (2019). In 2017, he appeared in season 1 of the Telugu reality show ''

'', hosted by Jr. NTR and telecast on Star Maa. His last film, ''Egise Tarajuvvualu,'' touched on the need for developing scientific temperament among children.

Criticism on Telugu films

Mahesh rose to prominence for his sharp and controversial reviews on Telugu films. He had been a panelist on television news channels, often defending rationalist views. He accuses Tollywood of being casteist and feels that Telugu films lack new ideas and fail to address social issues. In March 2017, he critically reviewed

Pawan Kalyan Pawan Kalyan (born Konidela Kalyan Babu; 2 September is an Indian actor, filmmaker, and politician. His films are predominantly in Telugu cinema. Kalyan is the younger brother of actor-ex.politician Chiranjeevi, and made his debut in the 1996 ...

's movie, ''

Katamarayudu ''Katamarayudu'' is a 2017 Indian Telugu-language action drama film directed by Kishore Kumar Pardasani. It stars Pawan Kalyan and Shruti Haasan while Tarun Arora, Siva Balaji, Ajay, Ali, Kamal Kamaraju, Chaitanya Krishna, Pradeep Rawat, Rao ...

'', and called the movie "a badly written film" with "a predictable screenplay". He also said that the movie was sexist and has a lot of derogatory comments against women. Soon after, he was trolled online and cyberbullied with abuses and threats on his Facebook wall, allegedly by Pawan Kalyan's fans.

Other works

Mahesh worked with UNICEF, World Bank, Save the Children and the Clinton Foundation.

Legal issues

Mahesh was banned from entering Hyderabad on 9 July 2018 for a period of six months by the Telangana police, under the Telangana Prevention of Anti-Social and Hazardous Activities Act, 1980, for allegedly calling

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...

a "cheat" and claiming that

Sita Sita (; ) also called as Janaki and Vaidehi is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic, ''Ramayana''. She is the consort of Rama, the avatar of the god Vishnu, and is regarded as a form of Vishnu's consort, Lakshmi. She ...

would have been better off with

Ravana Ravana (; , , ) is a rakshasa king of the island of Lanka, and the chief antagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana'' and its adaptations. In the ''Ramayana'', Ravana is described to be the eldest son of sage Vishrava and rakshasi Kaikesi. ...

, during a debate, about a sedition case filed against Babu Gogineni, in a regional news channel. He was dropped at his native place in Chittoor district by the police. He defended his comments citing his right to freedom of speech. A case was filed against him in February 2020 for referring to Rama as having mistresses and Sita wishing to eat the golden deer Rama was chasing, during an anti-CAA event held in Osmania University, Hyderabad.

Death

On 25 June 2021, Mahesh met with an accident when his car collided with a truck near

Nellore Nellore is a city located on the banks of Penna River, in Nellore district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of the district, as well as Nellore mandal and Nellore revenue division. It is the fourth most p ...

, when he was travelling from

Chittoor Chittoor is a city and district headquarters in Chittoor district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is also the mandal and divisional headquarters of Chittoor mandal and Chittoor revenue division, respectively. The city has a popu ...

towards

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...

. He was admitted to Medicover Hospitals in Nellore with severe head and eye injuries. The hospital stated that his health was in critical condition and then he was shifted to the ICU. The

government of Andhra Pradesh Government of Andhra Pradesh, abbreviated as, GOAP, or, Andhra Government, is the subnational government for the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is an elected government with 175 MLAs elected to the Legislative Assembly of Andhra Pradesh fo ...

offered a financial support of from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund for his treatment. He was shifted to

Apollo Hospitals Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited is an Indian multinational healthcare group headquartered in Chennai. Along with the eponymous hospital chain, the company also operates pharmacies, primary care and diagnostic centres, telehealth clinics, ...

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

for better treatment. He died on 10 July at the age of 43. He was survived by his wife and a son. His last rites were performed on 12 July at his native village of Yellamanda.

Filmography

Films

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mahesh, Kathi 1970s births Year of birth uncertain 2021 deaths 21st-century Indian male actors Male actors in Telugu cinema Screenwriters from Andhra Pradesh Telugu screenwriters Male actors from Andhra Pradesh Telugu male actors Indian male film actors Bigg Boss (Telugu TV series) contestants University of Hyderabad alumni People from Chittoor district