Naresh Kanodia, Gujarati cinema superstar & ex-MLA, dies of coronavirus

Gandhinagar: Gujarati film star and former BJP MLA Naresh Kanodia succumbed to coronavirus on Tuesday morning. He was 77.

The veteran actor was found coronavirus positive on October 20 and admitted to the UN Mehta Heart Hospital in Ahmedabad and put on ventilator support.

Naresh Kanodia was born on August 20, 1943 at Kanoda village in Becharaji Tehsil in Mahesana district.

His elder brother Mahesh passed away on October 25 in Gandhinagar owing to prolonged illness at the age of 80. Mahesh Kanodia was an ex-parliamentarian of the BJP while Naresh was an ex-legislator.

Two days back, Naresh's son Hitu Kanodia, also a film actor and a BJP legislator from Kadi, had shared a Twitter post to appeal the public to pray for his ailing father.

Both Mahesh and Naresh were very popular as a musical pair of Mahesh-Naresh. Both started their musical career in extreme poverty, doing musical and stage shows while moving from village to village. From that humble background, they gradually moved onto the bigger platform of providing music to Gujarati films and courted huge success.

Naresh thereafter went into acting and in a short time succeeded as an actor and become a hit film star with more than 40 to 50 hit movies to his credit.

Some of his notable Gujarati films were Meru Malan, Dhola Maru, Moti Verana Chowkma, Vanjari Vav, Hiran Ne Kanthe, Tame Re Champo Ne Ame Kel, Jode Rahejo Raj, Paras Padamani, Kalja No Katko, Pardeshi Maniyaro and others.

Later, both brothers entered politics, with Mahesh getting elected as an MP from Patan constituency on BJP ticket. He was elected for four terms from 1991 to 2009. Naresh forayed into politics as a legislator from Karjan as BJP nominee from 2002 to 2007.