Director Kiran Kumar, popularly known as KK, passed away on Wednesday morning in Hyderabad. He had been unwell for the past few days, and his condition reportedly worsened on Wednesday, leading to his untimely demise.

Kiran Kumar made his directorial debut with Kedi (2010), starring Nagarjuna in the lead role.

KK’s latest directorial venture, KJQ: King Jackie Queen has completed its shoot and is currently in the post-production stage. The film was gearing up for release when the tragic news of the young director’s passing left the entire team deeply saddened.

Apart from directing films, he had written dialogues for the Telugu dubbed versions of Sachin: A Billion Dreams, and for Mani Ratnam's films like OK Bangaram (O Kadhal Kanmani), Cheliyaa (Kaatru Veliyidai), and Nawab (Chekka Chivantha Vaanam).

He later worked on Mani Ratnam's Ponniyin Selvan films, as an assistant director.

Filmmaker Sandeep Reddy Vanga — who rose to prominence with Arjun Reddy (2017) — had earlier worked with KK as an assistant director.

Kiran Kumar hailed from Ananthapur in Andhra Pradesh and had completed his BTech before pursuing a career in cinema. Prior to making his directorial debut, he worked as an assistant director under filmmakers N Shankar and K Prakash, son of director K Raghavendra Rao, on the film Bellyful of Dreams.