Actor and producer · Telugu cinema
Akkineni Nageswara Rao
Akkineni Nageswara Rao movies: 210 Telugu films on file (210 as actor, 3 as producer), 1941–2022. Earliest on file: Dharma Patni (1941). Latest release: Pratibimbalu (5 November 2022).
- Films on file
- 210 (210 as actor, 3 as producer)
- Years on file
- 1941–2022
- Record
- Q278980 on Wikidata
Akkineni Nageswara Rao, known as ANR, was an Indian actor and producer in Telugu cinema whose career ran for seven decades, from the 1940s to his last film, Manam (2014). He starred in more than 255 films in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi, including Devadasu (1953), Mayabazar (1957), Gundamma Katha (1962) and Prema Nagar (1971). He received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India’s highest film honour, and the Padma Vibhushan.
He was born on 20 September 1923 in Ramapuram, Krishna district, into a farming family, according to Wikipedia, citing India Who’s Who. Wikidata lists two dates, 20 September 1923 and 20 September 1924, so the year is not settled across sources. He was the youngest of five brothers and his schooling ended at the primary level. He died on 22 January 2014.
Career
He started in theatre at 10, playing female roles at a time when women were mostly kept off the stage. The producer Ghantasala Balaramayya discovered him at Vijayawada railway station and gave him his film start; our records list his first film as Dharma Patni (1941). Early hits included Balaraju (1948), Keelu Gurram and Laila Majnu (1949).
His title role in Devadasu is regarded by many critics as the best of all its language versions. He played the poets and saints of biographical films, including Tenali Ramakrishna (1956), Mahakavi Kalidasu (1960), Bhakta Jayadeva (1961) and Amarasilpi Jakkanna (1964), and romantic leads in Anarkali (1955), Batasari (1961), Mooga Manasulu (1964) and Prema Nagar. Other successes include Donga Ramudu (1955), Ardhangi (1955), Allauddin Adhbhuta Deepam (1957), Mangalya Balam (1958), Doctor Chakravarty (1964), Antastulu (1965), Poola Rangadu (1967) and Dasara Bullodu (1971). In Navaratri (1966) he played nine roles.
Later highlights include Premabhishekam (1981), Meghasandesam (1982) and Seetharamayya Gari Manavaralu (1991), a box-office success almost 50 years after his debut. He appeared in the devotional films Sri Ramadasu (2006) and in Sri Rama Rajyam (2011). His last film, Manam, with his son Nagarjuna and grandson Naga Chaitanya, was released after his death and shown in a homage section at the 45th International Film Festival of India.
He played a key part in moving the Telugu film industry from Madras to Hyderabad in the 1970s and set up Annapurna Studios there. The Annapurna College of Film and Media followed in 2011.
Awards
- Dadasaheb Phalke Award, dated 1990 in Wikipedia’s lead and 1991 in its awards list (Rediff.com; The Hindu).
- Padma Vibhushan (2011), Padma Bhushan (1988) and Padma Shri (1968).
- Nandi Award for Best Actor for Doctor Chakravarthy, Antastulu, Sudigundalu, Meghasandesam and Bangaru Kutumbam, plus the Raghupathi Venkaiah Award (1989) and the NTR National Award (1996), per Wikipedia (Nandi Best Actor list).
- Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu for Marapurani Manishi, Aatma Bandhuvulu and Seetharamayya Gari Manavaralu, and the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award – South (1988) (Wikipedia winners list).
Where to watch his films
- Sri Ramadasu: Aha, per the platform listing (OTT details)
- Premabhishekam: Aha, per the platform listing
Catalogues change; check the platform before you plan to watch.
Personal life
He married Annapurna on 18 February 1949, according to Wikipedia, citing The Times of India; Annapurna Studios is named after her. They had five children, among them the producer Venkat and the actor Nagarjuna. His grandchildren include the actors Sumanth, Naga Chaitanya and Akhil Akkineni.
Sources: Wikipedia and the references it cites (linked above), Wikidata, and Tollywood Desk’s film and OTT records.
Career on file
Akkineni Nageswara Rao has 210 Telugu films on file at Tollywood Desk, dated from 1941 to 2022: 210 films as actor and three films as producer. The earliest of them is Dharma Patni (1941), and the most recent release is Pratibimbalu (2022). Measured by how many Wikipedia language editions cover them, the best-known titles here are Mayabazar (1957), Manam (2014) and Devadasu (1953). Other recent releases on file are Sri Rama Rajyam (2011), Sri Ramadasu (2006) and Chukkallo Chandrudu (2006).
Gummadi Venkateswara Rao is the most frequent co-star, sharing 79 films with Akkineni Nageswara Rao, followed by Allu Rama Lingaiah (47) and Savitri (31). Among directors, Dasari Narayana Rao and V. Madhusudhan Rao each cast Akkineni Nageswara Rao in 18 films, more than any other director; next are Adurthi Subba Rao (15) and Tatineni Rama Rao (9). Music on 33 of them is by K. V. Mahadevan, with S. Rajeswara Rao (30) and K. Chakravarthy (24) next. Across these films the credits on file name 72 different directors, 47 music directors and 150 other credited actors.
Runtime is on file for 186 of them; they average 156 minutes, and the longest is Samsaram at 219 minutes. Four of them have a streaming (OTT) release noted on the site. By decade the list splits into 1940s (11), 1950s (42), 1960s (57), 1970s (40), 1980s (37), 1990s (16), 2000s (4), 2010s (2) and 2020s (1).
Figures come from the films on file at Tollywood Desk and change as records are added.