Fact Check: Padma Shri Kinnera player Darshanam Mogilaiah passed away in 2024? No, news reports got it wrong

These viral posts can be seen crediting Mogilaiah, also known as Kinnera Mogilaiah, for his performance in the Balagam movie.

A December 19, 2024 report by Times of India states, “Renowned folk artist Darshanam Mogilaiah, who is known for his role in the Tollywood film ‘Balagam’ has passed away at the age of 73. His contributions to music were recognized when he was awarded the prestigious Padma Shri in 2022 for his exceptional talent and dedication to preserving folk traditions.” (Archive)

Several news organisations like News 18, Free Press Journal and Money Control, have also reported the purported death of Kinnera Mogilaiah. (Archive 1, Archive 2, Archive 3)

Similar claims can be found here and here. (Archive 1, Archive 2) More news reports about the news can be seen here and here. (Archive 1, Archive 2)

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that the claim is false. The news of Pastham Mogilaiah's demise is being wrongly circulated as the death of Kinnera player Darshanam Mogilaiah.

The image of Mogilaiah used in the viral news reports and social media posts showed Darshanam Mogilaiah and they mentioned him by his name. However, the person being referred to as ‘Balagam Mogilaiah’ in the reports, who passed away on December 19, 2024, is Pastham Mogilaiah.

Several news organisations like The Hindu , Siasat, Times Now News, Sakshi and The New Indian Express have published reports following Mogilaiah’s death. Except The Hindu, all reports used Pastham Mogilaiah’s image. (Archive 1, Archive 2, Archive 3, Archive 4, Archive 5)

At the time of the Pastham Mogilaiah’s demise, chief minister A Revanth Reddy expressed condolences. The official X account of CMO Telangana shared Mogilaiah’s image in a post made on December 19. 2024. (Archive)

Sharing the correct image of Mogilaiah, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president KT Rama Rao also expressed grief over the folk artiste’s death in an X post made on December 19, 2024. (Archive)

Pastham Mogilaiah aka ‘Balagam’ Mogilaiah

Pastham Mogilaiah, a well-known folk artiste from Telangana, tragically passed away on December 19, 2024, in Warangal. He was also known as ‘Balagam’ Mogilaiah following his elegy performance in the movie Balagam.

A native of Duggondi village in the Warangal district, he is survived by his wife Komuramma, who is also a folk artiste, a son and a daughter. A December 19, 2024, report by Siasat said that the couple was born into a traditional community of folk artistes known as ‘Sharadakandru’ of the ‘Beda Budaga Jangala’ community.

According to a report by Telangana Today, published on April 12, 2023, “Due to chronic diabetes and hypertension, both kidneys of the artiste failed. As a result, Mogilaiah was on dialysis for some time at Warangal. After a session of dialysis in Warangal, he complained of chest pain and with the intervention of health minister, T Harish Rao, he was shifted to NIMS Hospital.” (Archive)

Mogilaiah underwent treatment for a while and the Telangana government supported his medical treatment apart from providing him with additional financial help.

After suffering from various health conditions for the last few years, Mogilaiah was shifted to a private hospital in Warangal due to kidney-related issues. He breathed his last at the hospital on the morning of December 19, 2024.

Darshanam Mogilaiah aka Kinnera Mogilaiah

Darshanam Mogilaiah is one of the few surviving Kinnera players from Telangana. He hails from the Madiga (Dalit) family in the Ausalikunta village of Lingala mandal in Nagarkurnool district.

Mogilaiah was honoured with the State government’s Ugadi Puraskaram in 2015. On January 26, 2022, the Government of India felicitated him with a Padma Shri.

He shot into fame after he sang the title track for Pawan Kalyan’s ‘Bheemla Nayak’ movie in 2022.

On May 3, 2024, LiveMint reported that Mogilaiah was seen working as a construction labourer in May 2024, Hyderabad, to make ends meet. (Archive)

Sunil Neeradi, a research scholar from Osmania University who worked with Darshanam Mogilaiah on a project rejected the claims that he passed away. He said, “Following the death of Pastham Mogilaiah, many news reports and social media posts surfaced with the claim that Kinnera Mogilaiah passed away, but they are not true.”

NewsMeter also spoke to Darshanam Mogilaiah who said he is healthy and well. Mogilaiah informed us that he is currently living in Hyderabad and has recently spoken at a convention at the Ravindra Bharathi auditorium.

Therefore, NewsMeter found that the claim is false.