Film Festival to commemorate 100th birth anniversary of Nageswara Rao

National film festival announced to mark 100th birth anniversary of Akkineni Nageswara Rao. (X)

The film festival offers film lovers a rare and unique opportunity to experience Nageswara Rao’s versatile acting performances once again on the big screen.

The following milestone films will be shown at the film festival: Devadasu (1953), Madam (1955), Mayabazar (1957), Bharya Bharthalu (1961), Gundamma Katha (1962), Doctor Chakravarthi (1964), Sudigundalu (1968), Prem Nagar (1971), Premabhishekam (1981), and Manam (2014).

The retrospective is being organised in collaboration with the Film Heritage Foundation, the Akkineni family, the National Film Development Corporation–National Film Archive of India (NFDC-NFAI) and the multiplex chain PVR-INOX.

Announcing the event, filmmaker and Director of the Film Heritage Foundation Shivendra Singh Dungarpur said that after the success of their retrospectives on Amitabh Bachchan, Dilip Kumar and Dev Anand, they have designed this unique film festival to honour the memory of Nageswara Rao.

“This selection of films, spanning 1953 to 2014, demonstrates his remarkable range as an actor and highlights the enduring appeal of these classics. It also underscores the importance of preserving our film heritage,” he added.

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‘Dedicated to preserving his legacy’

Actor-producer Akkineni Nagarjuna, son of Nageswara Rao, said he was happy that the Film Heritage Foundation was celebrating his father’s birth centenary with a festival celebrating his path-breaking films.

“He was rightly ‘Natasamrat‘ for his incredible ability to portray a wide range of roles, from a saint to an alcoholic to a romantic hero. His performance in Devadasu is often considered one of the best versions of the film, and classics such as Premabhishekam, Doctor ChakravarthiAnd Sudigundalu are still loved,” he noted.

Nagarjuna also highlighted the role his late father played in establishing Annapurna Studios, which laid the foundation for the Telugu film industry in undivided Andhra Pradesh.

“We are committed to preserving his legacy so that people will remember him for another 100 years,” he added.

We are proud to bring the classic films of Sri Akkineni Nageswara Rao garu back to the audience.

He was a true pioneer and visionary who founded us, Annapurna Studios.

We thank the Film Heritage Foundation and the NFDC-National Film Archive of India for this… photo.twitter.com/4q4xvHYxEU

— Annapurna Studios (@AnnapurnaStdios) September 4, 2024

Amitabh Bachchan also expressed his admiration for the late actor, especially for his humility and simplicity. He defined the film festival, which was organised for Telugu cinema on a large scale for the first time, as a fitting tribute to Nageswara Rao’s stature.

Prithul Kumar, Joint Secretary (Films) and Managing Director, NFDC-NFAI, said they have restored seven timeless classics and will be showcasing them at the retrospective in 4K, based on prints and negatives from their collection.

About Akkineni Nageswara Rao

Akkineni Nageswara Rao, an actor and producer who worked in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil films, is best known for his contributions to Telugu cinema.

During his career spanning 71 years and more than 250 films, he excelled in a wide range of roles, from mainstream to unconventional films and in genres such as mythology, drama and comedy.

He has received Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan, Dadasaheb Phalke Award, Raghupati Venkaiah Award and multiple Filmfare Awards.

Nageswara Rao passed away on January 22, 2014. Manamdirected by Vikram Kumar, was his last film.

(Edited by Y Krishna Jyothi)

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