Telugu producer Mahesh S Koneru died of a heart attack earlier today at the age of 40 in Andhra Pradesh's Visakhapatnam. Koneru, who was Jr. NTR's publicist, has been associated with the distribution of Vijay's blockbuster films Bigil and Master in Andhra and Telangana.

Expressing his distress over the news, Jr. NTR wrote on social media, "With the heaviest of heart and in utter disbelief, I am letting you all know that my dearest friend @SMKoneru is no more. I am shell shocked and utterly speechless. My sincerest condolences to his family and his near and dear." Mahesh Koneru was part of a number of marketing and publicity teams for several Tollywood blockbusters, including SS Rajamouli's films Baahubali: The Beginning and Baahubali: The Conclusion.

Mahesh Koneru had also produced the films Thimmarusu with Satya Dev and Miss India with Keerthy Suresh under his East Coast Productions banner. Apart from Jr. NTR, several Tollywood celebrities, including Nandamuri Kalyanram, Nani, Anil Ravipudi, Anasuya Bhardwaj, among others, took to social media to condole the producer's untimely demise.

With the heaviest of heart and in utter disbelief, I am letting you all know that my dearest friend @SMKoneru is no more. I am shell shocked and utterly speechless.

My sincerest condolences to his family and his near and dear. pic.twitter.com/VhurazUPQk

— Jr NTR (@tarak9999) October 12, 2021