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Nata Samrat no more
Nata Samrat no more, Akkineni Nageswara Rao, ANR Death, ANR’s film journey. ANR was the last of the most popular first generation actors of Telugu cinema and was considered one of the two all-time greats of Telugu cinema, the other being NT Rama Rao (NTR) who died in 1996.
Tragedy king leaves whole Telugu world in tearsIndustry closes today to pay homage to thespian
- Tollywood thespian passes away at 91
- Industry loses last of first generation heroes
- Last rites to be performed at Annapurna Studios today
Hyderabad: Padma Vibhushan and Dada Saheb Phalke Awardee Dr Akkineni Nageswara Rao (ANR) passed away at Care Hospitals here at 12.10 am on Wednesday. He was 91.
The thespian had been battling cancer for a few months. He recently underwent a surgery for intestinal cancer. ANR is survived by three daughters and two sons, including actor Nagarjuna, who shared that ANR had a lively chat with family members on Tuesday night and that he passed away in his sleep.
Film fraternity, eminent personalities and politicians rushed to his house at Jubilee Hills to pay their last respects. The body was shifted to Annapurna Studio. The body will be kept at Annapurna Studios from 7 am to 11.30 am on Thursday. Later, it will be taken to the Film Chamber to enable film fraternity to pay their respects. From there, it will be brought back to Annapurna Studios for last rites. Last rites will be held at Annapurna Studios with full State honours on Thursday and he will be cremated at the studio that he had lovingly built in the name of his wife.
From a poor farmer's son to one of the most loved and respected actors of Indian cinema, ANR’s film journey lasted over seven decades, through which he had remained an uncrowned king of Telugu cinema, acted in 256 movies and donned various roles in folk, mythological, social and devotional films.
ANR was the last of the most popular first generation actors of Telugu cinema and was considered one of the two all-time greats of Telugu cinema, the other being NT Rama Rao (NTR) who died in 1996.
He started his career as an actor in theatre when he was just nine when he dropped out of school, thanks to his meager resources. He made his cinematic debut in a brief role for the 1941 film ‘Dharmapatni’. In 1944, producer Ghantasala Balaramaiah picked him up from the platform of Vijayawada railway station to play the lead role in mythological film, ‘Sitarama Jananam’. Little did he know then that the role which he hesitantly agreed to do would mark the beginning of an illustrious career unmatched by many.
His versatility as an actor even while balancing the popular image of a romantic hero in films like ‘Laila Majnu’, ‘Anarkali’ and ‘Prem Nagar’, is laudable. Be it the role of the second hero that he chose to do in Missamma where his comedy timing was on a par with any seasoned comedian of Telugu films; or the role of Narada that he enacted in films like ‘Bhukailas’ or the spiritually inclined roles he enacted so well despite being an atheist such as those in ‘Mahakavi Kalidasu’, ‘Vipranarayana’ and ‘Bhakta Tukaram’, ‘Sri Ramadasu’ and ‘Sri Rama Rajyam,’ he constantly chose to play different roles as he never wanted the audience to get bored of seeing him on screen.
While he will be remembered for many wonderful films such as ‘Devadasu’, ‘Mayabazar’, ‘Dr Chakravarthy’ and ‘Muga Manasulu’, ‘Sudigundaalu’, ‘Antastulu’ and ‘Meghasandesam’, ANR considered his best films to be ‘Batasari’ and ‘Devadasu’. "I still consider ‘Batasari’ as one of my finest performances in my career. There was only one page of dialogue in the whole picture and the role demanded maximum use of expressions," he has said. In 1966, Telugu drama ‘Navaratri,’ Rao essayed nine different roles and earned critical acclaim for his performance. Although he was enjoying a successful career in Tamil industry too, he shifted base to Hyderabad to set up one of the biggest studios in India.
ANR bagged three Filmfare awards for the best actor for his role in ‘Marapurani Manishi ‘(1973), ‘Seetharamaiah Gari Manavaralu’ (1991) and ‘Bangaru Kutumbam’ (1994). He also won two Nandi awards for best actor for ‘Meghasandesam’ (1982) and ‘Bangaru Kutumbam’ (1994).
He was recipient of many awards, including the Padma Vibushan, the second highest civilian award of the country, and the Dada Saheb Phalke Award, the highest individual lifetime achievement award for films, Raghupathi Venkaiah Award and NTR National Award. His last film is ‘Manam’ with son Nagarjuna and grandson Naga Chaitanya. He announced about his cancer at a press conference in October last year. He said he did not want any sympathy. Claiming that he had a strong will, he said he wanted to live till 100 years with the good wishes of his fans.
