Chiranjeevi's Response on the death of his close friend and Varsatile Actor Hariprasad

Within a few hours of announcing his much-awaited political entry, megastar Chiranjeevi suffered a setback in his personal life on Sunday.

Hari Prasad (53), a close associate of his and actor, suffered a cardiac arrest while participating in a debate being telecast live on a television channel. The debate was on Chiranjeevi's entry into politics.He was immediately taken to a private hospital but died in the night while undergoing treatment.

Chiranjeevi, Hari Prasad and character artiste and comedian Sudhakar were roommates and contemporaries while taking training in acting at a film institute.

Hari Prasad had reporedly been undergoing treatment for obesity in a city hospital for the past couple of months.

Apart from playing roles in several Telugu and other language films, Hari Prasad played the lead role in the Telugu hit, Sivaranjani. Chiranjeevi visited the hosptial and mourned his associate at a time when he embarked on a political career.

Chiranjeevi on Monday promised to extend all assistance to the family of his close friend and actor Hari Prasad. Chiranjeevi called the family members of Prasad and promised to stand by them. He expressed his shock and grief over the sudden demise of his friend.

"He was my friend for 30 years. I have many friends but Prasad was different. It is a huge loss. What pained me more is that he passed away while talking about me," said Chiranjeevi.

Prasad was Chiranjeevi were classmate at the Madras Film Institute. He began his film career with Telugu film 'Shivaranjani' and acted in over 120 Telugu, Tamil and Kannada movies. He also produced some of Chiranjeevi's blockbuster movies.

Cinefield's Response on Hariprasad's death - video: