Akkineni Nageswara Rao Birth Centenary: Film Festival To Celebrate Cinema Icon

A specially curated, multi-city film festival will honour the enduring legacy of Akkineni Nageswara Rao to mark the 100th birth anniversary of one of the most iconic stars of South Indian cinema.

The retrospective festival, called 'ANR 100 - King Of The Silver Screen', will be organised by not-for-profit organization Film Heritage Foundation (FHF), and screen 10 restored classics from Akkineni Nageswara Rao's extensive filmography, a press release stated.

The film extravaganza will be held from September 20 to 22 across 25 cities, including major metros like Hyderabad, Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Bengaluru, and smaller cities like Vadodara, Jalandhar, Rourkela, Warangal, Kakinada and Tumkur.

The films curated for the movie gala include "Devadasu" (1953), "Missamma" (1955), "Mayabazar" (1957), "Bharya Bharthalu" (1961), "Gundamma Katha" (1962), "Doctor Chakravarthi" (1964), "Sudigundalu" (1968), "Prem Nagar" (1971), "Premabhishekam" (1981) and "Manam" (2014).

The Film Heritage Foundation and Akkineni Nagewara Rao's family is presenting the countrywide festival in association with the National Film Archive Of India (NFDC) and PVR INOX.

“After the huge success of our Amitabh Bachchan, Dilip Kumar and Dev Anand retrospectives, we are thrilled to present another first-of-its-kind film festival of Telugu classics to honour the memory of a doyen of Telugu cinema - Akkineni Nageswara Rao," said Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, Filmmaker and FHF director.

"The selection of films in this retrospective beginning from 1953 to 2014 include some of his biggest hits that will give people a chance to see his remarkable range as an actor and why these films continue to have resonance with people decades after they were made and why it is so important to preserve our film heritage," he added.

Telugu superstar Akkineni Nagarjuna, son of Akkineni Nageswara Rao, said he is delighted that the film festival will celebrate the landmark films of his father's career across the country.

"He was rightly called Natasamrat for his amazing ability to play a range of roles from a saint to an alcoholic to a romantic hero in a way that has stayed in people’s hearts and minds for decades...

"He was a pioneer who established Annapurna Studios, laying the foundation for the Telugu film industry in our state. We are very proud of his legacy and through this festival audiences across the country will remember an icon not just of Telugu cinema but of Indian cinema," he added.

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan remembered Akkineni Nageswara Rao for his "humility and simplicity".

"This is the first time a retrospective on this scale has been done for Telugu cinema in a manner befitting his stature. The festival is in keeping with Film Heritage Foundation’s commitment to bringing the heritage of Indian cinema back on the big screen the way these films were meant to be seen.

"This will give contemporary audiences an amazing opportunity to experience the tremendous screen presence, the versatility and the range of a legendary actor in Telugu classics like 'Devadasu', 'Sudigundalu', and 'Doctor Chakravarthy'," Bachchan said.

Fondly called ANR or Nata Samrat by his admirers, Akkineni Nageswara Rao was born on September 20, 1924 and worked in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil cinema. In a career spanning 71 years and more than 250 movies, he was best known for his diversity of roles.

During his lifetime, he earned various accolades such as Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan, Dadasaheb Phalke Award, Raghupathi Venkaiah Award and Filmfare Awards, among others. PTI RB RB BK BK