Famous Tollywood choreographer S.Rama Rao, popularly known as Rakesh Master, passed away on Sunday afternoon while undergoing treatment at Gandhi Hospital.
Sources close to the 53-year-old choreographer said after a 20-day shoot in Visakhapatnam, he returned to Hyderabad two days ago and started vomiting. “When we took him to a private hospital on Saaturday, we were told that he was dehydrated due to sunstroke. He had only curd rice and slept at night,” they said.
However, on Sunday morning, he fell unconscious and was rushed to Gandhi Hospital, where his blood pressure dropped.
Hospital Superintendent M.Raja Rao said sunstroke might have precipitated his underlying health conditions but cannot be termed as the main cause of death. “He was a chronic alcoholic and his diabetes was not under control. His blood pressure was 60/40 when he was admitted and his health deteriorated through the day. We kept him on ventilator but he could not make it for more than two hours on it and breathed his last around 5 p.m.,” said the official.
Rakesh Master choreographed dance for several top actors in the Tollywood film industry. His demise was mourned by several other dance masters, who took to social media to convey their condolences.