Chennai, Jun 11 (IANS): Telugu director Viplove Koneti, whose directorial debut "Hithudu" is lined up for release, has brushed aside rumours about his sudden demise. He says he has been down due to ill-health, but is very much alive.

On Tuesday, news broke out that Koneti died at a private hospital.

"I fell ill, was hospitalised and cut myself off from all phone contact. True. Rest is a mystery. And I love death. I have openly confessed this in my writings, art and talks. I learnt a lot from death, which I have observed at close quarters while I was studying medicine," Koneti posted on his Facebook page on Wednesday.

"Death is no joke for me. This is all because of a disturbance that I could not control and right now, I'm trying to control. I will try tougher measures so that such 'disturbances' do not disturb other people," he added.

Koneti's "Hithudu", starring Jagapathi Babu and Meera Nandan, is gearing up for release soon.