India, July 14 -- Veteran actor-comedian Kota Srinivasa Rao died at age 83 on Sunday in Hyderabad due to an illness. Numerous celebrities, including his close friend Brahmanandam, went to his Filmnagar home to pay their respects. Talking to the press after meeting the grieving family, Brahmanandam broke down while remembering his friend. (Also Read: Prakash Raj pays honest tribute to Kota Srinivasa Rao; talks about his sarcasm: 'Not everybody liked him.')

Brahmanandam recollected how there was a time in Tollywood when he, Kota and Babu Mohan would be cast in every film. He said, "Kota Srinivasa Rao and I have acted together in hundreds of films. I don't need to specifically tell everyone how great an actor he was. There was a decade when...