‘KGF’ Actor Harish Rai Passes Away at 55 After Year-Long Battle with Cancer
‘KGF’ Actor Harish Rai Passes Away at 55 After Year-Long Battle with Cancer
Veteran Kannada actor Harish Rai, best known for his roles in KGF and Om, passed away on Thursday at the age of 55. He had been undergoing treatment for stage 4 thyroid cancer at the Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology in Bengaluru.
According to reports, the cancer had spread to his stomach and other organs despite multiple rounds of chemotherapy and palliative care.
Harish Rai had earlier spoken openly about his health struggles and the high cost of his treatment, sharing that a single injection cost ₹3.55 lakh, with three injections required per 63-day cycle — amounting to over ₹10 lakh per cycle. Some patients, he said, needed up to 20 injections, pushing total expenses close to ₹70 lakh.
Addressing rumours about help from KGF star Yash, Rai had mentioned that while he hadn’t reached out this time, Yash had supported him before. “He is just one call away. If he knows about it, he will surely help,” Rai had said in an earlier interview.
Over his decades-long career, Harish Rai acted in several Kannada, Tamil, and Telugu films, including Samara, Bangalore Underworld, Jodihakki, Raj Bahadur, Sanju Weds Geetha, Swayamvara, Nalla, and both parts of KGF.
His passing is a great loss to the Kannada film industry, where he was celebrated for his powerful performances and memorable villainous roles.
