Notable Telugu comedian Venkat Raj, popularly known as Fish Venkat, passed away in Hyderabad on Friday. The actor, who was 53 years old, was battling severe health issues, including kidney failure, for a long time.

While the Hyderabad-born actor was largely known for his comic roles and his unique Telangana dialect, especially in films like Bunny, Aadi, Adhurs, Gabbar Singh and DJ Tillu, the actor also played negative roles in many films. His other notable film appearances include Dil, Attarintiki Daredi, and Nayak. The actor’s last film appearance was earlier this year in Coffee with a Killer, which released in January.

Fish Venkat, who began his acting career in 2000, acquired his screen name because of his background of being in the fish-selling business, which he operated from Musheerabad before becoming an actor. 

The actor was suffering from kidney-related provlems for about 4 years. For the past 9 months, he was undergoing treatment at RBM hospital in Boduppal. The actor was recently placed on a ventilator after his condition worsened and both his kidneys failed. The actor required a kidney transplant, for which the family had been reportedly seeking financial assistance of Rs 50 lakh for some time now, but not to much avail. Although, a few days ago, Vishwak Sen provided a financial assistance of Rs 2 lakhs for the family. 

Fish Venkat is survived by his wife Suvarna and his daughter Sravanthi.