Chennai, Jan 13: Renowned Telugu actress Anjali Devi died during a private hospital here Mon. The 86-year-old was suffering from heart-related problems.

“Anjali Devi was admitted to Vijaya Hospital four days back. She passed away this afternoon,” a hospital source told.

She is survived by 2 sons.

Born in 1928 as Anjani Kumar, she created her medium debut as a baby artist in a 1936 film.

It was director C. Pullaiah who rechristened Anjani as Anjali Devi. In 1947, she created her debut as a lead heroine opposite Akkineni Nageswara Rao in Telugu family drama “Balaraju”.

Before getting into films, Anjali was a popular theatre artist.

Mostly famous for starring in mythological and family dramas, Anjali became a household name with unforgettable performances in films like “Lava Kusha”, “Bhakta Prahlada”, “Bhakta Tukaram” and “Badi Pantulu”.

She had also starred in a few Tamil films like “Niraparadhi” and “Sarvadhikari” and Hindi movies like “Devta” and “Sri Ram Vanvas”.

Under her banner Anjali pictures, she had also made concerning 20 successful films like “Anarkali”, “Paradesi” and “Suvarna Sundari”.

Anjali is credited with introducing Bollywood actress Rekha into Telugu industry as a baby artist with “Rangula Ratnam”.