Allu Arjun’s Grandmother Allu Kanakaratnam Dies at 94

Allu Arjun’s grandmother, Allu Kanakaratnam, the matriarch of one of Telugu cinema’s most prominent families, died early Saturday in Hyderabad at the age of 94, prompting immediate mourning across Tollywood and the return of several leading actors to be with the family. Family members said the longtime resident of Allu Arjun’s Jubilee Hills home passed away on Saturday; local reports gave the time of death as around 1:45 a.m. The body was placed at producer Allu Aravind’s residence from 9 a.m. for relatives and well wishers to pay respects, and final rites were scheduled for later in the day at Kokapet.

Allu Arjun, who was in Mumbai for a film project with director Atlee, cut short his commitments and flew back to Hyderabad, industry sources said. Ram Charan, who was shooting a song in Mysore for the film Peddi, also cancelled his work and headed to the family home. Several other figures from the Telugu film fraternity, including Chiranjeevi, producer Naga Vamsi and director Trivikram, visited or were reported to be on their way to pay condolences. Pawan Kalyan’s wife, Anna Lezhneva, was reported at Allu Arjun’s residence, while some sources said Pawan Kalyan and Naga Babu, who...