Akkineni Nageswara Rao fondly referred to as ANR is considered one of the two eyes of the Telugu Film Industry. He has been a superstar since the early days of Telugu Cinema. His seventy-five-year-long career spreads parallels to the Telugu Film Industry. He made many iconic films and contributed immensely to Telugu Cinema. He is a legend in social films and novel-based films, which indirectly brings many cultural changes.
Akkineni Nageswara Rao was born into a lower-middle-class family on 20 September 1924. He began working in theatre at the age of 10. He became a stage actor, specializing in playing female characters since women at that time were mostly prohibited from acting. He debuted in films at the age of 17 in a supporting role in the film Dharmapatni. After three years at the age of 20, he played a lead role in Sree Seeta Rama Jananam.
ANR starred in 255 films in Telugu, Tamil, and Hindi languages. His portrayal of Devadas in the film with the same name is based on the landmark novel Devadas by Legendary Bengali Writer Sarath. Nevada's was made in almost all languages in India including Shahrukh Khan in 2000's. But, still, ANR's enactment in that iconic role is considered the best and a benchmark to date.
Though he lived in the roles of ardent devotees in his films, Akkineni is an atheist. He is very popular for his performances in romantic dramas Laila Majnu, Anarkali, Batasari, Mooga Manasulu, Prema Nagar, Premabhishekam, and Meghasandesam. He also starred in social films, blockbusters Balaraju, Keelu Gurram, Ardhangi, Donga Ramudu, Mangalya Balam, Gundamma Katha, Doctor Chakravarty, Dharma Daata, and Dasara Bullodu.
He was one of the instrumental figures in the shifting of the Telugu film industry from Madras to Hyderabad in the 1970s. He established Annapurna Studios in 1976 to provide infrastructural support to Telugu cinema in Hyderabad. He later started the Annapurna International School of Film and Media within Annapurna Studios in 2011. Manam (2014) was the last film of Akkineni, who died on 22 January 2014 during the film's production phase. He completed dubbing his last film from his deathbed.
CineJosh remembering the Legendary Actor Akkineni Nageswara Rao on his Birth Anniversary. May he live forever through his remarkable body of work.