Akkineni Nageswara Rao, widely known as ANR, was an Indian actor and producer, known for his work majorly in Telugu cinema. He starred in many landmark films in his seventy five-year career, and became one of the most prominent figures of Telugu cinema. Akkineni received seven state Nandi Awards, and five Filmfare Awards South. He is a recipient of the Dada Saheb Phalke Award and Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian award, for his contributions to the fields of Art and Cinema.
Kālidāsa was a Gupta era, Classical Sanskrit author and playwright. His plays and poetry are primarily based on Hindu Puranas and philosophy. His surviving works consist of three plays, two epic poems and two shorter poems.
Kaviratna Kalidasa is a 1983 Kannada-language historical drama film based on the life of Kālidāsa, a renowned Classical Sanskrit writer of the 4th Century A.D. The film was written and directed by Renuka Sharma and produced by V. S. Govinda. The film stars Rajkumar, portraying the title role of Kalidasa, along with Jaya Pradha in the role of Vidyadhare and Srinivasa Murthy as Raja Bhoja.
Mahakavi Kalidasa is 1955 Indian Kannada-language film directed by K. R. Seetharama Sastry, in his debut direction. The movie is based on the legends of the poet Kālidāsa. It stars Honnappa Bhagavatar as Kālidāsa, a Sanskrit poet who lived during the 4th and 5th Century CE. It tells the story of how he, an aristocratic young man cursed by his guru with ignorance, goes on to become a great poet. B. Raghavendra Rao, Narasimharaju and B. Saroja Devi features supporting roles. It was remade in Telugu in 1960 as Mahakavi Kalidasu starring Akkineni Nageswara Rao in Tamil in 1966 as Mahakavi Kalidas starring Sivaji Ganesan. This Kannada film was dubbed into Tamil and released in 1956 as Mahakavi Kalidas. At the 3rd National Film Awards, the film won the award for Best Feature Film in Kannada. The film is seen as a landmark in Kannada cinema.
Satya Harishchandra is a 1965 Indian Telugu-language Hindu mythological film, based on the life of Harishchandra, produced and directed by K. V. Reddy under the Vijaya Productions banner. It stars N. T. Rama Rao and S. Varalakshmi, with music composed by Pendyala Nageswara Rao.
Pendyala Nageswara Rao, known mononymously by his surname Pendyala, was an Indian composer, multi-instrumentalist, conductor, music producer known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema along with Tamil and Kannada films.
Velugu Needalu is a 1961 Telugu-language film produced by D. Madhusudhana Rao under the Annapurna Pictures banner and directed by Adurthi Subba Rao. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Savitri, with music composed by Pendyala Nageswara Rao.
Jayabheri is a 1959 Indian Telugu-language biographical film directed by P. Pullayya who co-wrote the script with Acharya Aatreya. The film is based on the life of poet Kaasinath and stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Anjali Devi. The film was produced by Vasireddy Narayana Rao with music composed by Pendyala Nageswara Rao.
Mahakavi Kshetrayya is a 1976 Telugu-language biographical film, based on the life of Kshetrayya, produced by P. Adinarayana Rao under the Anjali Pictures banner and directed by Adurthi Subba Rao & C. S. Rao. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao in the title role, with Anjali Devi, Manjula as female leads, and music also composed by P. Adinarayana Rao. Actually the film direction was started by veteran Adurthi Subba Rao but he had expired in the middle of the movie and director C. S. Rao completed the movie.
Bhakta Tukaram is a 1973 Indian Telugu-language biographical film based on the life of the saint-poet Tukaram, produced by P. Adinarayana Rao under the Anjali Pictures banner and directed by V. Madhusudhana Rao. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Anjali Devi and Sivaji Ganesan, with music also composed by Adinarayana Rao.
Keelu Gurram is a 1949 Indian Telugu-language swashbuckler film produced and directed by Raja Saheb of Mirzapuram under the Sobhanachala Pictures banner. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Anjali Devi, with music composed by Ghantasala. The film marks the debut of Ghantasala as a composer who would later become a noted composer and playback singer.
Prema (transl. Love) is a 1952 Indian romance film, produced and directed by P. S. Ramakrishna Rao under the Bharani Studios banner. The film is simultaneously made in Telugu and Tamil languages, the latter titled Kaadhal. It stars P. Bhanumathi and Akkineni Nageswara Rao with music composed by C. R. Subburaman. Bhanumathi wrote the story, for the first time.
Sri Krishnarjuna Yuddhamu is a 1963 Indian Telugu-language Hindu mythological film, produced and directed by K. V. Reddy under the Jayanthi Pictures banner. It stars N. T. Rama Rao, Akkineni Nageswara Rao and B. Saroja Devi, with music composed by Pendyala Nageswara Rao. The film was based on the Telugu play Gayopakhyanam written by Chilakamarti Lakshmi Narasimham in 1890. It was later dubbed into Kannada and into Tamil.
Kamalakara Kameswara Rao was an Indian film director known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema, and a few Tamil and Hindi films. Widely known as Pauranika Chitra Brahma, Kameswara Rao directed fifty feature films in a variety of genres.
Chanakya Chandragupta is a 1977 Indian Telugu-language historical drama film, produced and directed by N. T. Rama Rao under his Ramakrishna Cine Studios banner. It stars Rama Rao, Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Sivaji Ganesan, Jayapradha and Manjula, with music composed by Pendyala Nageswara Rao. The film is based on the 3rd century BC Maurya Emperor Chandragupta Maurya and his mentor Chanakya.
Pelli Sambandham (transl. Marriage Alliance) is a 2000 Indian Telugu-language comedy-drama film, produced by C. Aswini Dutt and K. Raghavendra Rao and directed by K. Raghavendra Rao. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Sumanth, Sakshi Shivanand, Sanghavi, with music composed by S. A. Rajkumar. The film is a remake of the Tamil language film Pooparika Varugirom (1999).
Kalaivaanan is 1959 Indian Tamil-language biographical film, based on the life of Karnataka poet Kaasinath, produced by Vasireddy Narayana Rao and directed by P. Pullayya. It stars A. Nageswara Rao and Anjali Devi, with music composed by Pendyala Nageswara Rao. The film was simultaneously made in Telugu as Jayabheri.
Raja Ramesh is a 1977 Indian Telugu-language thriller film directed and co-written by V. Madhusudhana Rao. The film stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Vanisri. The music was composed by K. V. Mahadevan. It is a remake of the Bengali film Sanyasi Raja (1975), which was based on the Bhawal case. The film was released on 21 July 1977.
Manasu Mangalyam is a 1971 Telugu-language drama film, produced by Koganti Kutumba Rao under the Uttama Chitra banner and directed by K. Pratyagatma. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Jamuna and music composed by Pendyala Nageswara Rao.
Mantra Dandam is a 1951 Telugu-language fantasy swashbuckler film, produced by C. K. C. Chitti under the Sri Gnanambika Pictures banner and directed by K. S. Ramachandra Rao. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Sriranjani Jr. and music composed by Nallam Nageswara Rao, while S. Rajeswara Rao has taken care of the background score.
