Naidu said he enquired with the doctors treating Sastry after coming to know about his ill-health and had hoped for his recovery. Sastry gave primacy to Telugu language and values in his songs, the Vice President said. The songs of Sastry, sung by Balasubrahmanyam, captivated the audience, be it those of the Carnatic classical music genre or peppy mass numbers.Įxpressing anguish over his demise, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu said he was among those who admired the songs of the departed lyricist. He formed a powerful combination with legendary playback singer S P Balasubrahmanyam, especially in the films of K Viswanath. Since then, he has penned about 3,000 songs and bagged the Andhra Pradesh government's Nandi award several times, besides other honours. He came to be known as 'Sirivennela' Sitarama Sastry though his surname is Chembolu. Sastry, who has left an indelible impression on Telugu speaking people with his magnificent songs in films like 'Sirivennela', 'Swarna Kamalam', 'Subha Lagnam', 'Rudraveena' and a number of others, became popular with veteran director K Viswanath's film 'Sirivennela' in 1986. He was put on ECMO to support his lungs with medical professionals closely observing his condition, the hospital said in a release. Sastry was admitted to the hospital on November 24 with pneumonia and was in the Intensive Care Unit.
Veteran Telugu film lyricist 'Sirivennela' Sitarama Sastry, a recipient of the Padma Shri and numerous other awards, died due to lung cancer-related complications at a private hospital here on Tuesday.