Last rites held with Police honours

Bengaluru: Renowned Kannada anchor and actor Aparna Vastarey passed away at a private hospital, here yesterday night, after battling with cancer for more than two years. She was 58.

Aparna is survived by her husband Nagaraj Vastarey, an architect. Her last rites were held at Banashankari Electric Crematorium with Police honours this afternoon.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who has condoled Aparna’s death on his ‘X’ account (formerly twitter) stated that Aparna, a multi-talented personality, who hosted many programmes in the Kannada language, was a household name in the State.

He also prayed for her soul to rest in peace and strength to her family members to bear the loss. 

Profile: Born on Oct. 14, 1966 at Panchahalli village in Chikkamagaluru district to K.S. Narayanaswamy and Padmavathi couple, Aparna forayed into Kannada Film Industry through the movie ‘Masanada Hoovu’ directed by Puttanna Kanagal in 1984. She later entered the television industry as an anchor in 1989.

The immensely talented actor was seen playing prominent roles in Kannada serials such as ‘Moodalamane’ directed by late Vaishali Kasaravalli and ‘Mukta’ directed by T.N. Seetharam.

Apart from hosting a number of programmes in Doordarshan and other government and private events, Aparna lent her voice for various announcements including for ‘Namma Metro.’

She also worked as a Radio Jockey for All India Radio’s Vividh Bharati. Aparna holds a record for hosting a Deepavali programme for eight continuous hours in 1998.

In recent years, Aparna was seen in the first season of Bigg Boss Kannada in 2013 and also played the role of ‘Varalakshmi’ in ‘Maja Talkies’, the talk show hosted by Srujan Lokesh. Her demise came as shock for many as she had kept her private life on low-key. 

On hearing the news, film and television actors including Srinath, Raghavendra Rajkumar, Tara, Srujan Lokesh, Sihi Kahi Chandru and Shwetha Chengappa, theatre personalities including Mandya Ramesh, singer B.R. Chaya, politicians including BJP State President B.Y. Vijayendra, MLA Munirathna, friends and public visited her house in Banashankari II stage to pay their last respects.