Hundreds bid adieu to Jagannatha Varma

ALLAPUZHA: Hundreds bid adieu to vete ran Malayalam actor Jagannatha Varma on Wednesday who died on Tuesday morning. His mortal remains were consigned to flames with state honours on the premises of his ancestral home Kattunkal Kovilakam at Varanadu in Cherthala here. His son, actor Manu Varma lit the funeral pyre.
Former union minister Vayalar Ravi, film personalities R Jayan, Babu Namboothiri, Sudheer, P Balachandran, Yavanika Gopalakrishnan, Baiju Kalasala, Vayalar Sarath Chadra Varma, Rajeev Alunkal and the departed actor's son-in-law Viji Thampi paid last their respects to the actor.
Varma, who played the roles of a kathakali artist, police officer and film actor with ease in real life, died at a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday.
He was 77.Varma was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia two days ago. He suffered a cardiac arrest on Tuesday morning and his death was confirmed around 8.30am.
His body was brought to Cherthala on Tuesday.
The cremation was fixed at 11am on Wednesday. But his son Manu Varma fainted while circling the funeral pyre and the cremation was held half an hour later.