The event, to be held from 20 to 22 September, will showcase 10 restored classics of the iconic Telugu actor.
Published Sep 04, 2024 | 4:16 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 04, 2024 | 4:16 PM
Nationwide film festival announced to honour Akkineni Nageswara Rao's 100th birth anniversary. (X)
The Film Heritage Foundation, a Mumbai-based NGO which is into film preservation, has announced a nationwide film festival to commemorate the 100th birth anniversary of the late legendary actor Akkineni Nageswara Rao.
The event, titled “ANR 100—King of the Silver Screen”, will be held from 20 to 22 September. It will showcase 10 restored classics of the iconic Telugu actor.
The screenings will be held in PVR-INOX theatres in 25 cities across India, including Hyderabad, Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru, Vadodara, Jalandhar, Rourkela, Warangal, Kakinada, and Tumkur.
The film festival offers movie lovers a rare and unique opportunity to experience Nageswara Rao’s versatile performances on the big screen once again.
The film festival will feature these landmark films: 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 retrospective will be organised in collaboration with the Film Heritage Foundation, the Akkineni family, the National Film Development Corporation–National Film Archive of India (NFDC-NFAI), and the PVR-INOX multiplex chain.
Announcing the event, filmmaker and Film Heritage Foundation director Shivendra Singh Dungarpur stated that following the success of their retrospectives on Amitabh Bachchan, Dilip Kumar, and Dev Anand, they designed this first-of-its-kind film festival honouring the memory of Nageswara Rao.
“This selection of films, ranging from 1953 to 2014, showcases his remarkable range as an actor and highlights the enduring appeal of these classics. It also reinforces the importance of preserving our film heritage,” he added.
Actor-producer Akkineni Nagarjuna, the son of Nageswara Rao, shared his delight that the Film Heritage Foundation is celebrating his father’s centenary with a festival of his landmark films.
“He was rightly called ‘Natasamrat‘ for his incredible ability to portray a wide range of roles-from a saint to an alcoholic to a romantic hero. His performance in Devadasu is often regarded as one of the best across all versions of the film, and classics like Premabhishekam, Doctor Chakravarthi, and Sudigundalu are still beloved today,” he noted.
Nagarjuna also highlighted his late father’s role in founding Annapurna Studios, which laid the groundwork for the Telugu film industry in undivided Andhra Pradesh.
“We are committed to preserving his legacy so that people will remember him for another hundred years,” he added.
We are delighted that Sri Akkineni Nageswara Rao garu’s classic films are being brought to audience once again.
He was a true pioneer and visionary who established us, Annapurna Studios.
We thank Film Heritage Foundation and NFDC-National Film Archive of India for this… pic.twitter.com/4q4xvHYxEU
— Annapurna Studios (@AnnapurnaStdios) September 4, 2024
Amitabh Bachchan also expressed his admiration for the late actor, especially for his humility and simplicity. He defined the film festival, being organised for the first time on a huge scale for Telugu cinema, as a fitting tribute to Nageswara Rao’s stature.
Prithul Kumar, Joint Secretary (Films) and Managing Director of NFDC-NFAI, stated that they restored seven timeless classics to be screened at the retrospective in 4K from prints and negatives in their collection.
An actor and producer who worked in Hindi, Telugu, and Tamil films, Akkineni Nageswara Rao is most celebrated for his contributions to Telugu cinema.
Over a career spanning 71 years and more than 250 films, he excelled in a wide range of roles—from mainstream movies to offbeat films, and in genres like mythology, drama, and comedy.
He was the recipient of Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan, Dadasaheb Phalke Award, Raghupati Venkaiah Award, and multiple Filmfare Awards.
Nageswara Rao passed away on 22 January 2014. Manam, directed by Vikram Kumar, was his last film.
(Edited by Y Krishna Jyothi)
