Kishore Sarja, elder brother of Action King Arjun, passed away on Saturday morning at Manipal Hospital in Bangalore after a major heart attack. The 50-year-old Kishore is survived by wife Aparna and son Sooraj.

Just a week before his death, Kishore was admitted to the hospital where he was treated for multiple health problems. Arjun has been very close to his brother and was by his side at the time of his death. He cancelled his all shooting to perform the last rites. Kishore Sarja and Arjun Sarja are the sons of Kannada actor Shakthi Prasad, who had acted in villain's roles in more than 200 Kannada films.

Kishore started off as an assistant director in Kannada and was associated with many leading directors like V. Somashekhar, Vijay, S.V. Rajendra Singh Babu and D. Rajendra Babu. He debuted as a director with Alimayya, followed by Makkala Saakshi, Jodi, Thutta Muththa and Bava Bamaidha. He was busy with Vayuputra, which has just completed its shooting and was at the re-recording stage.

"Kishore was one of the best directors I had chosen to direct films which were produced by me. In fact, I gave him the big break as a director. In those days, he was very serious and enthusiastic. But over the years, I saw him losing his enthusiasm and passion for making films. That is a real tragedy," said K.C.N. Kumar, who produced Alimayya with Kishore as director and Arjun as hero.

 
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