Akkineni Nageswara Rao’s Centenary to be Celebrated With Film Festival

India’s Film Heritage Foundation (FHF) is set to commemorate the centenary of Telugu cinema legend Akkineni Nageswara Rao with a countrywide film festival.

Rao, known for his versatility, worked in the Telugu, Tamil and Hindi-language cinema industries over a 71-year career spanning more than 250 movies. He was a recipient of numerous accolades, including the Padma Vibhushan and Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India’s highest acting honor.

Titled “ANR 100 – King Of The Silver Screen,” the event will showcase 10 restored classics from Sept. 20-22, across 25 Indian cities.

The retrospective, coinciding with Rao’s 100th birth anniversary on Sept. 20, will feature landmark Telugu films spanning six decades. Film aficionados can look forward to screenings of early classics like “Devadasu” (1953), “Missamma” (1955), and the mythological fantasy “Mayabazar” (1957). The 1960s will be represented by “Bharya Bharthalu” (1961), “Gundamma Katha” (1962), “Doctor Chakravarthi” (1964) and “Sudigundalu” (1968). The selection also includes later hits such as “Prem Nagar” (1971) and “Premabhishekam” (1981), concluding with Rao’s final film appearance 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 screenings will take place in major metros like Hyderabad, Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, and Bengaluru, as well as smaller cities including Vadodara, Jalandhar and Tumkur.

The festival is a collaborative effort between Film Heritage Foundation, the Akkineni Nageswara Rao family, NFDC – National Film Archive Of India, and multiplex chain PVR-Inox. Funding is from India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting under the National Film Heritage Mission.

Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, director of Film Heritage Foundation, said: “The selection of films in this retrospective beginning from 1953 to 2014 include some of his biggest hits that will give people a chance to see his remarkable range as an actor and why these films continue to have resonance with people decades after they were made and why it is so important to preserve our film heritage.”

Nagarjuna added: “He was 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 people’s hearts and minds for decades. He was a pioneer who established Annapurna Studios, laying 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 an icon not just of Telugu cinema but of Indian cinema.”

FHF, whose restoration of Girish Kasaravalli’s “Ghatashraddha” is currently playing in Venice, previously curated film festivals featuring restored prints of the films of Dev Anand, Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan.

Bachchan said: “I had the good fortune to meet him on several occasions and I was always struck by his humility and simplicity. This is the first time a retrospective on this scale has been done for Telugu cinema in a manner befitting his stature. The festival is in keeping with Film Heritage Foundation’s commitment to bringing the heritage of Indian cinema back on the big screen the way these films were meant to be seen. This will give contemporary audiences an amazing opportunity to experience the tremendous screen presence, the versatility and the range of a legendary actor.”

Prithul Kumar, joint secretary (films) and managing director, NFDC-National Film Archive Of India, noted that seven of the featured classics 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.