HYDERABAD: K B Tilak, doyen of dissent cinema, passed away after a brief illness at the Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences here on Thursday.
Long-time chroniclers of Telugu cinema recalled with respect his contribution to Telugu cinema and acknowledged him as a film maker of courage who made films that went against the grain even way back in the 1950s.
Well-known as a producer, director and film trade union leader, Korlipara Bala Gangandhar Tilak was among the several Telugu cinema figures who cared to be known for their inspiration by the Srikakulam peasant rebellion.
His Bhoomi Kosam was dedicated to the memory of his brother, Korlipara Ramanarasimha Rao who was among the first naxalite leaders to be slain in an encounter.
Several revolutionaries from the Srikakulam movement -- Vempatapu Satyam, Adibhatla Kailasam, Subba Rao Panigrahi, Panchadi Krishnamurthy and Panchadi Nirmala -- were characters in that film.
In 1957, a year after the formation of AP, Tilak came out with the film MLA which exposed the misdeeds of elected reps.
He was also among the first to claim Hyderabad for the Telugu people when he immortalised the city in the song ‘Idenandi idenandi Bhagyanagaram moodu kotla Andhrula ku mukhya pattanam.’ The combination of Tilak, actor Jagaiah, music composer Pendyala Nageswara Rao and lyricist Arudra made several successful and meaningful films, chiefly Uyyala Jampaala.
He went on to produce and direct several path-breaking and socially relevant films including Atha Okinti Kodale (which would translate as Saas bhi kabhi bahu thee).
Reminiscing about Tilak after his passing on Thursday, film personalities recalled with a chuckle other contributions made by Tilak in the form of discovering major talent and giving lasting and idiosyncratic monikers to film props that last to this day.
One personality said, the MLA pesarattu famous in south Indian eateries today can be traced back to his film MLA (1957). More memorably, it was in MLA , that the sensuous voice of Telugu playback singing S Janaki made her debut with the song ‘Nee aaasa adiyasa che jaare manipusa/ Brathukantha amavasya lambadolla Ramadasa’.
Tilak is part credited with the discovery of a beautiful young girl named Lalitha Rani, studying at Rajyalakshmi Women’s College in Rajahmundry and renaming her memorably as Jayaprada.
Another string to Tilak’s bow was his work for the trade unions.
He was the first to launch unions for the film workers. He led a legal battle against Richard Attenborough who made the film Gandhi and saw to it that Indian workers and technicians were paid their due.
Tilak leaves behind his son Lokesh, a software engineer in San Francisco.
His last rites will be held in Hyderabad on Saturday.
His body has been kept at the KIMS mortuary.