Hyderabad, Oct 4: Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, megastar Chiranjeevi and several film personalities on Sunday condoled the demise of legendary filmmaker Singeetham Srinivasa Rao in Chennai.
Rao's contributions to the film industry would be remembered forever, Revanth Reddy said and conveyed his condolences to the bereaved family.
Expressing grief over the demise of Rao, Chiranjeevi said the departed director was a true visionary.
Rao's imagination and courage to explore new ideas gave Indian cinema some of its most unforgettable films, he said.
Rao's contribution to cinema will always be remembered with immense respect and affection, he said.
Pawan Kalyan recalls iconic films
Rao's creativity and experiments in films like 'Mayuri', 'Aditya 369', 'Vichitra Sodarulu', 'Pushpaka Vimanam' and 'Michael Madana Kamaraju' have won accolades, Pawan Kalyan said.
The songs in Rao's films like 'America Ammayi' and 'Pantulamma' have been extremely popular, he said.
Rao's film 'Sing Geetam', which he directed at the age of 94, shows his passion for cinema, he said.
Balakrishna remembers three classics
Renowned actor and TDP MLA in Andhra Pradesh N Balakrishna said he and Rao created three distinct classics together.
"'Aditya 369', which left a new mark not only on Telugu cinema but also on Indian cinema; 'Bhairava Dweepam', the first computer graphics-driven film in Telugu, which made history at the box office and remains unbeatable among folklore films; and 'Sri Krishnarjuna Vijayam' in the mythological genre," he said.
Balakrishna said, through these three films, portrayed characters across all four major genres — social, historical, folklore, and mythological — under a single director as captain.
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Family shared special bond
Balakrishna recalled that Rao worked as an associate for many of his legendary father N T Rama Rao's films.
Hence, his family shared a special bond with him that went far beyond cinema, he said. "Singeetam garu was truly a legendary director in every sense of the word, pursuing unforgettable cinematic experiments until his last breath at 95, across various Indian languages."
Rao's demise is a profound personal loss to him and an irreplaceable loss to the Indian film industry, Balakrishna added.
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