Published 11:35 IST, October 10th 2020
'Gandhada Gudi' fame Kannada film director Vijay Reddy passes away at 84 in Chennai
Vijay Reddy had worked primarily in Kannada cinema with over 50 movies to his credit including 48 in Kannada and directed about 16 Hindi films and 12 in Telugu.
- Entertainment News
- 2 min read
Kannada film director Vijay Reddy has passed away in Chennai on Friday. He was 84 years old.
Born as Vijay Reddy in Tadepalligudem of West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, Vijay entered the film industry in 1953 as an assistant editor for B.Vittalacharya's Kannada directorial Mane Tumbida Hennu. He also directed movies in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, and Malayalam. His debut Telugu movie was Srimathi. He was known for the movies like - Rangamahal Rahasya, Gandhada Gudi, Mayura and Sanaadi Appanna.
He has worked primarily in Kannada cinema with over 50 movies to his credit including 48 in Kannada. His debut directorial venture was Rangamahal Rahasya (1970). Vijay's career's turning point came in 1973 when he directed Gandhada Gudi which went on to be a milestone in Kannada film industry. He also directed Mayura which is considered amongst the classic movies of Kannada cinema. He achieved national recognition after the 1977 movie Sanaadi Appanna which had acclaimed shehnai player Bismillah Khan playing the instrument for the lead actor of the movie.
Actor Puneet Rajkumar paid his condolences to the film director and wrote, "Vijay Reddy, who directed the father's unforgettable films, Gandhagadudi, Mayura, Naan Nee Naal and Halavara, has passed away. I am fortunate that I have acted in the Bhakta Prahlada film directed by him. May their soul be calm."
He had the distinction of having directed the 150th movies of both Rajkumar (Gandhada Gudi) as well as Vishnuvardhan (Mojugara Sogasugara). He directed Rajkumar in nine movies ( excluding two cameo appearances) in varied genres including mythological, historical, novel based, folklore and social dramas. He was also instrumental in giving Shankar Nag a mass image through Auto Raja.
Prior to that, he had directed Anant Nag in Naa Ninna Bidalaare which had made people take note of Anant's acting prowess. He directed two movies of Shiva Rajkumar - Shiva Mecchida Kannappa and Gandhada Gudi Part 2 - both of which had Rajkumar in cameo appearances. He had also directed movies in other languages namely Hindi,Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam - the prominent being the Hindi remake of Naa Ninna Mareyalare titled Pyar Kiya Hai Pyar Karenge starring Anil Kapoor. In 2000, he was selected to direct Rajkumar's mythological movie Bhakta Ambareesha which was subsequently shelved.
Updated 11:35 IST, October 10th 2020