The Indian Film Heritage Foundation is all set to celebrate the centenary of Telugu cinema legend Akkineni Nageswara Rao with a countrywide film festival.
Rao is known for his acting prowess, having worked in the Telugu, Tamil and Hindi film industries over a 71-year career spanning over 250 films. He has received numerous awards, including the Padma Vibhushan and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India's highest film award.
Titled 'ANR 100 – King of Silver Screen', the event will screen 10 restored classic films from September 20-22, across 25 Indian cities.
The retrospective, which coincides with Rao’s birth centenary on September 20, will showcase notable Telugu films spanning six decades. Cinephiles can look forward to screenings of early classics like Devadasu (1953), Missamma (1955) and the legendary fantasy film Mayabazar (1957). The 1960s will be represented by Bhariya Bharthalu (1961), Gundamma Katha (1962), Dr. Chakravarthy (1964) and Suddigundalu (1968). The selection also includes later hits like Prem Nagar (1971) and Premabhishekam (1981), concluding with Rao’s final outing in Manam (2014).
Rao died in 2014, leaving behind two generations of actors, including his son Akkineni Nagarjuna and grandsons Naga Chaitanya and Akhil Akkineni.
These shows will be held in major metropolitan areas such as Hyderabad, Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Bengaluru, as well as smaller cities including Vadodara, Jalandhar and Tumkur.
The festival is a collaborative effort between the Film Heritage Foundation, the Akkineni Nageswara Rao family, the National Film Archive of India and the PVR-Inox chain of cinema complexes. Funding is provided by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of India under the National Film Heritage Mission.
“The selection of films in this retrospective from 1953 to 2014 includes some of his biggest hits, giving people an opportunity to see his incredible range as an actor, why these films are still popular with people decades after they were made and why it is so important to preserve our cinematic heritage,” said Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, Director, Film Heritage Foundation.
“He is 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 the hearts and minds of people for decades. He was the pioneer in establishing Annapurna Studios, and laid the first 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 him as an icon not just of Telugu cinema but of Indian cinema,” added Nagarjuna.
The Friedrich Howard Foundation, which restored Girish Kasaravalli's “Ghatashraddha” currently showing in Venice, has previously organised film festivals featuring restored versions of films by Dev Anand, Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan.
“I have had the opportunity to meet him on several occasions and have been struck by his humility and simplicity. This is the first time that Telugu cinema has been screened on such a large scale in a manner befitting his stature. The festival is in line with the Film Heritage Foundation’s commitment to bring back the heritage of Indian cinema to the big screen the way these films were meant to be seen. This will give contemporary audiences an incredible opportunity to experience the immense screen presence, versatility and range of a legendary actor,” Bachchan said.
Prithul Kumar, Joint Secretary (Films) and Managing Director, National Film Archives of India, pointed out that seven iconic classic films have been restored in 4K from prints and negatives held in the archive’s collection.
“This event is not just a tribute to a legendary actor, but also a testament to our commitment to preserving and promoting the rich cultural heritage of Indian cinema. By bringing these masterpieces back to the big screen, we hope to evoke a deep sense of pride and nostalgia, allowing audiences to reconnect with the golden era of our film history,” Kumar said.
Amitabh Bachchan
Film Heritage Foundation
