A. Nageswara Rao

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Akkineni Nageswara Rao ( Telugu : అక్కినేని నాగేశ్వరరావు ; born September 20, 1924 in Venkataraghavapuram in the Krishna district , Andhra Pradesh ; † January 22, 2014 in Hyderabad , Andhra Pradesh) was an Indian film actor of the Telugu film . It is known by the abbreviation ANR.

Life

Nageswara Rao already appeared as a stage actor in childhood; so at the age of 12 he played a female role in the play Harishchandra . He later gained a reputation as a talented female actor in Gudivada with the Excelsior Dramatic Association . He made his film debut in 1940 in Fr. Pullaiah's Dharmapatni, and afterwards he appeared occasionally in films. In his second, the mythological film Seeta Rama Jananam (1942) by G. Balaramaiah , he took on the male lead of Rama . His rise began with the success of Keelugurram (1949) alongside Anjali Devi and the first Telugu film adaptation of the Sufi legend Laila Majnu , in which he played the leading role of Qai under the direction of PS Ramakrishna Rao alongside his wife Bhanumathi Ramakrishna as Laila to the movie star. Together with NT Rama Rao , he appeared in two films, Palletoori Pilla and Samsaram , in 1950 . Both actors became the male "megastars" of Telugu film over the next three decades.

After a few melodramatic films with Bhanumathi, he was successful alongside actress K. Savitri in Devadasu (1953), a Telugu version of Sharatchandra Chattopadhyays Devdas directed by V. Raghavaiahs . Nageswara Rao was at home in many film genres; In addition to mythological films and melodramas, he also played in adventure films and social dramas. His best-known films include Vipranarayana (1954), Tenali Ramakrishna (1956), Maya Bazaar (1957), Suvarna Sundari (1957), Doctor Chakravarthi (1964), Prem Nagar (1971), Chakradhari (1977) and Megha Sandesam (1982) .

He campaigned for the relocation of the Telugu film industry from Chennai ( Tamil Nadu ) to Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh) in order to bring them to the country of their mother tongue. Together with director Adurthi Subba Rao , he founded the film production company Annapurna Studios in 1957 , which produced, among other things , artistically ambitious films by Subba Rao and K. Vishwanath and which became full-fledged film studios by 1976.

Nageswara Rao was honored with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1990 for his outstanding contribution to Indian film . He was also a holder of the Padma Vibhushan , the Padma Bhushan and the Padma Shri .

His younger son Nagarjuna is also an actor in Telugu and Hindi films .

Filmography (selection)

• 1940: Dharmapatni
• 1947: Palnati Yuddham
• 1947: Ratnamala
• 1949: Keelugurram / Maya Kudhirai
• 1949: Laila Majnu
• 1949: Raksharekha
• 1950: Swapna Sundari
• 1950: samsaram
• 1950: Paramanandayya Sishyula Katha
• 1952: Prema / Kathal
• 1953: Devadasu
• 1953: Kanna Talli / Petrathai
• 1953: Poongothai / Paradesi
• 1954: Chakrapani
• 1954: Nirupedalu
• 1954: Vipranarayana
• 1955: Anarkali
• 1955: Ardhangi / Pennin Perumai
• 1955: Missamma / Missiamma
• 1955: Rojulu Marayi
• 1955: Santhanam
• 1955: Donga Ramudu
• 1956: Tenali Ramakrishna
• 1957: Maya Bazaar
• 1957: Suvarna Sundari
• 1958: Bhukailasa
• 1958: Chenchulakshmi
• 1959: Kalyana Parisu
• 1961: Velugu
• 1962: Aradhana
• 1962: Gundamma Katha
• 1962: Kulagothralu
• 1962: Siri Sampadalu
• 1962: Shri Krishnarjuna Yuddham
• 1963: Punarjanma
• 1963: Moogamanasulu
• 1964: Poojaphalam
• 1964: Murali Krishna
• 1964: Amarashilpi Jakanna
• 1967: Pranamithrulu
• 1969: Buddhimanthudu
• 1970: Maro Prapancham
• 1977: Chakradhari
• 1982: Megha Sandesam
• 1994: Gandeevam

literature

• A. Nageswara Rao. In: Ashish Rajadhyaksha, Paul Willemen: Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema. New Delhi 1999, ISBN 0-85170-669-X , p. 193

Web links

Commons : Akkineni Nageswara Rao  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• A. Nageswara Rao in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Akkineni Nageswara Rao: the grand old man of Telugu cinema in Hindustantimes from January 22, 2014
• Akkineni Nageswara Rao passes away in The Hindu on January 22, 2014