HYDERABAD: Telugu film comedian and character artist Potti Veeraiah passed away, after suffering a cardiac arrest at his residence in Chitrapuri Colony on Sunday evening.

Gattu Veeraiah (74) who is popularly known as Potti Veeraiah was a dwarf and entertained the South film audience for more than five decades. He was born in Phanigiri in Suryapet district, in erstwhile Andhra Pradesh.

A former stage artist, Veeraiah made his acting debut with B Vittalacharya's movie Aggi Dora in 1967 and acted in over 500 films, including Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and other languages. He has acted with all the leading heroes of the Telugu Film Industry including NT Rama Rao, Kanta Rao, Sobhan Babu, Krishna, Akkineni Nageshwara Rao, Chiranjeevi, MG Ramachandran, Sivaji Ganesan, and also Rajinikanth.

Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao expressed his grief over Veeraiah's death and conveyed his condolences to his family.

He recalled that Veeraiah had acted in more than 500 films in several languages, from Vithalacharya's time to the present and won acclaim from the cine-goers, a release from the Chief Minister's Office said.

He is survived by two children, one of them Vijaya Durga is also an actress. His wife Mallika passed away in 2008. Several celebrities from Telugu film Industry offered their condolences. His cremation is expected to take place today at the Mahaprasthanam near Film Nagar.