She had overcome cancer a few years ago

Bengaluru: Kannada actress of yesteryears, Bengaluru Vijaya Radha, popularly known as B.V. Radha, wife of the late Kannada director K.S.L. Swamee, passed away yesterday at a private hospital in Bengaluru following heart attack. She was 70. She was rushed to the hospital in the wee hours yesterday after her health deteriorated. Radha had overcome cancer a few years ago.

Her body was kept at her Bengaluru residence for the public to pay last respects. As per her wishes, her eyes were donated to Narayana Nethtralaya and her body to M.S. Ramaiah Hospital.

Born as Rajalakshmi, Radha made her acting debut with Kannada film Navakoti Narayana, starring legendary thespian Dr. Rajkumar in the lead role, in 1964 and had acted in more than 300 films. She had been part of at least 250 films in Kannada, while she has also acted in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Tulu and Hindi. She had shared the screen with legendary actors such as Dr. Rajkumar, M.G. Ramachandran, Sivaji Ganesan, N.T. Rama Rao, Gemini Ganesan, Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Jaishankar. After retiring from her film career, she was actively involved in theatre. She received the State-level Kanaka Ratna award by the Kanaka Gurupeetha at Tinthini in Gulbarga for her contribution to the field of theatre and films.