HYDERABAD: Legendary filmmaker and Dadasaheb Phalke award recipient Dr D Ramanaidu breathed his last after a prolonged battle with prostate cancer here Wednesday. The movie moghul, who produced about 155 films in several languages, is survived by two sons, actor Venkatesh and producer Suresh Babu, and daughter Lakshmi. He was 78.
Born in Karamchedu, Andhra Pradesh on June 6, 1936, Ramanaidu began his career as a businessman, running a rice mill and buses, before entering the world of cinema. After working for a time in a production agency, he floated his own banner, Suresh Productions, in collaboration with his childhood friends G Rajendra Prasad and Subba Rao. He made his first film, Anuragam in 1963. However, success came his way the next year with Ramudu Bheemudu starring the legendary NT Rama Rao and he never looked back since.Ramanaidu holds the Guinness Book Record for producing the maximum number of films in Indian cinema — in a career spanning over five decades, he produced 155 films in 15 different languages including Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, Bengali, Oriya, Assamese, Malayalam, Kannada, Gujarati and Marathi. In his twilight, he directed a few Telugu movies too.
In 2012, he was conferred the Padma Bhushan for his contribution to Indian cinema. In 2009, he received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for Lifetime Achievement. Ramanaidu made a brief foray into politics when he won from the Bapatla Lok Sabha constituency in 1999 on a TDP ticket. AP CM Chandrababu Naidu, his TS counterpart K Chandrasekhar Rao and Governor ESL Narasimhan condoled Ramanaidu’s death.
Prolific producer made 155 movies
Dr Daggubati Ramanaidu, in a career spanning over five decades, produced about 155 films in 15 different languages — a Guinness Record for making the maximum number of films in Indian cinema. His first film was Anuragam produced in 1963.
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