For Akkineni Nageswara Rao, or ANR as he is popularly known, movies were his life, first and last. The veteran, who died early on Wednesday, dominated, alongside N. T. Rama Rao, the Telugu cinema through the 1960s and the 1970s. For half a century, ANR and NTR (N. T. Rama Rao), were like the two eyes of the Telugu film industry, or Tollywood.
Born on September 20, 1923, ANR knew well his strengths and weaknesses. Of fragile physique, he knew macho roles were not for him; he remained the romantic hero.
His memorable portrayal of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s tragic hero
He starred in several blockbusters that avid movie-goers never tire of watching, including
ANR’s acting career, which began in 1941, continued till the very end. He had just finished shooting for the film Manam (We) co-starring his son, Nagarjuna, and grandson, Naga Chaitanya.
Recently diagnosed with cancer of the intestine, the gritty thespian made a public announcement that he was determined to defeat it. ANR received several top honours, including Dada Saheb Phalke Award, Raghupati Venkaiah Award and Padma Vibhushan. Unlike NTR, ANR never attempted to direct movies though produced several.
He was one of the first film personalities to build a film studio (Annapoorna Studios) in Hyderabad in 1976. This helped the Telugu film industry take roots in Andhra Pradesh, forcing actors and technicians to shift base to Hyderabad from Chennai.