Not many filmmakers in Indian history can boast about making their debut feature during a World War, scoring a consummate hit and go on to etch a most enviable career of all time.
Kadiri Venkata Reddy, the director behind the 1951 classic Pathala Bhairavi and many other gems is known for lending Telugu cinema its present-day identity and character.
Despite no prior knowledge in filmmaking, he made in-roads with films like Bhakta Pothana (1943) and Yogi Vemana (1947) and proved that he had something new to show.
Understanding the pulse of the audience, as it were, is often highlighted as a key trait of a modern-day filmmaker but KV Reddy possessed the quality well in advance.
Singeetam Srinivas Rao, who would serve as his associate in the following decade, relays in a video that the same practice was retained by KV Reddy on almost all his projects.
Film analysts have often credited his simplicity, in that he never made films in the suspense or mystery genre but stuck to his inclination as the chief contributor to his faring.