Actor Dies by Suicide Just Days After Wife’s Death: Details on Challa Chandu’s Passing

Challa Chandu, an actor also known as Chandrakanth, is dead, according to multiple media outlets, including The Economic Times and India Today. Chandu’s death comes just days after his wife, actress Pavithra Jayaram, tragically died in a car crash.

The Free Press Journal reports that family members broke into Chandu’s home after he would not answer their phone calls. They discovered the Trinayani actor hanging in his home, which is said to have shared with Jayaram before her passing. Authorities reportedly found a suicide note in the residence.

Chandu was reportedly in the same vehicle with Jayaram when she died on Sunday. The vehicle in question somehow collided with a road divider in Mahbubnagar, Telangana, India. Then a bus struck the automobile. NDTV claims that multiple other parties were injured and hospitalized at the time, including Chandu, Jayaram’s sister Apeksha and their driver, whose name is Srikant. The group was traveling to Hanakere, Karnataka at the time.

Chandu has shared numerous Instagram posts in Jayaram’s memory since her passing. Per the police report cited by The Economic Times, Chandu was deeply depressed in the wake of his actress partner’s death.

Both Jayaram and Chandu starred in the Telugu-language TV show Trinayani. Jayaram played Thilottama, while Chandu played her brother, Parasuram.

It is worth noting, that despite their open love for one another on social media, The Free Press Journal questions whether they were legally married at the time of Jayaram’s death. Both stars were said to have been separated from their previous spouses, with whom they each shared two children, respectively.