Noted Kannada actor, author, theatre personality and writer, H.G. Somashekara Rao, popularly known as Somanna, breathed his last on Tuesday at a private hospital due to age related health issues. He was 86.

Somanna is survived by his wife and two children. The son of freedom fighter Harihar Gundu Rao, Somanna hailed from Chitradurga district.