Well known director, scriptwriter and producer of Tollywood, Vijaya Bapineedu, passed away today of old age related ailments in Hyderabad.

Vijaya Bapineedu, whose real name was Guttha Bapineedu Chowdhary, was 82.

He delivered several block busters like Khaidi No 786 , Gang Leader , Big Boss , Magadheerudu in a career spanning nearly half a century. Top cinema stars like Chiranjeevi and Sobhan Babu featured in his directorial ventures.

Born in 1936 in Chaataparru village near Eluru in Andhra Pradesh, Bapineedu had a fruitful stint in popular magazines like Bommarillu and Vijaya .

The film fraternity in both the Telugu states expressed condolences to his family.