Actor turned politician MH Ambareesh passed away at a private hospital in Bengaluru on Saturday following a heart attack. He was 66 and is survived by actress wife Sumalatha and son Abhishek.

The mortal remains of Ambareesh will be kept in Kanteerava stadium for public to pay their tribute to their beloved actor and leader.

An official mourning has been declared for three days. His last rights will be conducted near smarak of another icon of Kannada cinema Dr. Rajkumar with state honours tomorrow. He had served as Member of Parliament and was Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting in the UPA.

Ambareesh had acted in over 200 films and served as the Karnataka minister of housing in the Siddaramaiah-led cabinet.

Expressing grief over the demise of Ambareesh, Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy said an era of love and affection in the Kannada film industry had ended.

Tamil superstar Rajinikanth also condoled the death of veteran Kannada actor.