‘He Was The Most Complete Human Being I Know’

‘Outside
the
house,
he
was
this
iconic
deified
figure.’
‘Inside,
he
was
a
sorted-out,
genial
householder,
always
ready
to
lend
a
patient
ear
to
our
problems.’

“Even
if
he
was
not
recognised
by
someone
as
an
actor,
my
father
still
commanded
the
same
respect.
He
carried
his
aura
way
beyond
the
screen,”

Nagarjuna
tells

Subhash
K
Jha
about
his
legendary
father
Akkineni
Nageswara
Rao.

As
ANR’s
birth
centenary
falls
on
September
20,
PVR
INOX
is
hosting
a
film
festival
to
celebrate
the
icon
and
his
movies.

“My
father
has
a
legendary
reputation
in
Andhra
and
Telangana.
I
had
to
live
up
to
his
name.
Now
my
sons
have
to
live
to
not
only
my
father’s
name
but
also
mine.
It’s
a
tough
call,”
Nag
adds.

Nag,
I
remember
your
father’s
demise
on
January
22,
2014
vividly.

He
hadn’t
prepared
us
for
his
going,
although
he
had
cancer.

On
the
other
hand,
maybe
he
did
let
us
know
in
his
own
way
that
the
end
was
near.

On
his
90th
birthday,
he
had
decided
to
call
all
his
friends
and
family
from
India
and
abroad,
around
2,000
people.

I
think
he
had
a
premonition.

There
were
200
tables
at
his
birthday
dinner.
He
went
to
each
and
every
table
to
talk
to
all
his
friends.

He
made
an
hour-long
speech,
which
we
fortunately
recorded.
It’s
the
only
biographical
life-sketch
we
have
of
him.
We
intend
to
make
it
public.

You
idolised
him,
didn’t
you?

You
bet!
Right
from
my
childhood,
I
looked
at
him
with
awe.
When
we
went
out
together,
the
respect
he
commanded
was
visible
even
to
a
child.

Even
if
he
was
not
recognised
by
someone
as
an
actor,
my
father
still
commanded
the
same
respect.

He
carried
his
aura
way
beyond
the
screen.

At
home,
he
was
a
complete
husband,
father
and
grandfather.
He
was
the
most
complete
human
being
I
know.

I
connected
with
him
like
any
son
does
to
his
father.

Outside
the
house,
he
was
this
iconic
deified
figure.
Inside,
he
was
a
sorted-out,
genial
householder,
always
ready
to
lend
a
patient
ear
to
our
problems.

He
didn’t
play
favorites
in
the
family.

He
had
a
super
innings
as
an
actor.

He
enjoyed
acting
until
the
1970s
and
1980s.
Then
just
when
I
came
in
as
a
leading
man,
Indian
cinema
become
mongrelised,
Westernised
and
corrupted.

My
father
didn’t
like
it
at
all.

He
would
ask,
‘Why
does
our
cinema
need
to
ape
the
West?
Our
culture
and
heritage
are
so
rich.
Why
do
you
need
to
change
that?’

I
would
argue
back,
saying,
‘We
had
to
give
the
audience
what
they
wanted.’

He
would
counter-argue
saying,
‘Look
at
the
Chinese,
Koreans.
Their
cinema
preserves
their
language
and
culture.
They
are
global
leaders.’

Once
when
I
made
a
film,
I
wanted
to
send
it
to
international
film
festivals
after
cutting
the
songs.

My
father
was
aghast.

‘Why
are
you
cutting
out
your
culture?’
he
asked.

I
listened
to
him
and
kept
the
songs.

Even
when
he
stopped
acting,
he
kept
abreast
of
what
was
happening
in
Telugu
cinema.

In
his
later
years,
he
continued
to
watch
all
the
films.
He
would
comment
only
on
the
acting
as
acting
was
his
first
love.

He
saw
no
logic
in
my
action
scenes.

Sometimes
we
would
try
to
find
fault
with
him
and
end
up
stonewalled
and
angry
because
we
couldn’t
find
a
single
fault.

The
illness
must
have
shattered
the
family.

When
he
was
diagnosed
with
cancer,
he
gave
us
the
strength
and
courage
to
face
the
impending
tragedy.

He
taught
us
to
deal
with
it.

He
fought
the
disease
as
long
as
he
could.
He
was
on
the
sets
of
our
family
film

Manam
when
he
collapsed.

When
they
opened
him
up,
he
was
in
the
fifth
stage
of
cancer.

Until
then,
he
was
in
the
pink
of
health.
The
film
spans
a
period
from
1920
to
2013.

My
father
plays
a
90
year
old.
Except
that
incomplete
song,
he
completed
all
the
shooting.

Fifteen
days
after
surgery,
he
was
at
home
in
bed
when
he
said,
‘Bring
all
the
dubbing
equipment
and
do
my
dubbing
for

Manam
before
I
get
worse
or
you
will
get
a
mimicry
artiste
to
do
my
dubbing.’

He
made
sure
we
he
completed
the
film.

He
developed
a
pain
at
the
end.

We
took
him
to
the
hospital
and
for
the
first
time,
he
had
to
be
given
painkillers.
The
doctor
warned
us
that
it
was
the
beginning
of
the
end.

We
were
told
he
had
two
months
more
and
that
his
condition
would
get
very
bad.
He
said
he
wanted
to
go
home.

That
night
(January
21),
he
called
all
of
us
to
gather
around
him.
At
around
9.30
pm,
he
asked
us
to
go
home.
That
night
he
passed
away.

Thousands
of
people
came.

We
had
to
shut
the
gates,
but
they
kept
on
coming.

Your
son
Naga
Chaitanya
played
your
father
in
the
film.

To
see
my
son
playing
my
father
is
an
experience
I
can’t
put
into
words.

I
think
it
made
a
deep
emotional
connect
with
the
audiences
in
Andhra
and
Telangana.

My
son
doesn’t
resemble
my
father
at
all.
But
it’s
an
emotional
experience
of
watching
the
connection
being
made
over
the
generations
that
has
worked
for
the
audience.

My
father
has
a
legendary
reputation
in
Andhra
and
Telangana.
I
had
to
live
up
to
his
name.

Now
my
sons
have
to
live
to
not
only
my
father’s
name,
but
also
mine.
It’s
a
tough
call.
Both
are
doing
their
best.

I
can
only
do
what
any
father
can
do
to
help
them.
The
rest
is
destiny.

He
literally
passed
away
with
his
boots
on.
Now
that
they
are
having
this
richly
deserved
festival
of
his
films,
we’re
very
happy.

We
didn’t
have
the
negatives
of
all
his
films.
Fortunately,
the
National
Film
Archive
had
restored
some
of
them.

They
are
doing
fantastic
work,
not
just
with
my
father’s
films,
but
all
the
legendary
ones.

Shivendra
Singh
Dungarpur,
director
of
the
Film
Heritage
Foundation,
is
doing
such
an
amazing
job
of
restoring
the
classics
of
Indian
cinema.

Yes.
He
was
instrumental
in
restoring
the
prints
of
my
father’s
classics
which
I
didn’t
have
access
to.

They
want
the
younger
generation
to
know
where
cinema
came
from.

As
a
child,
did
you
watch
any
of
these
classics?

Of
course.
We
watched
all
these
films.
But
somewhere
along
the
way,
we
lost
them,
sadly.

What
the
Film
Heritage
Foundation
and
PVR
INOX
are
doing
is
truly
commendable.

The
festival
in
Hyderabad
will
start
with

Devadasu,
the
original

Devdas.

My
father
was
the
first
one
to
do
it.

On
September
20,
at
6pm,
the
whole
family
will
all
be
there
at
the
theatre.

We
are
19
of
us,
including
the
grandchildren.

Three
generations
of
actors
dedicated
to
the
Indian
film
industry.
How
does
that
make
you
feel?

It
feels
very,
very,
good.

We
wouldn’t
be
where
we
are
without
my
father’s
blessings.
My
sons
also
feel
that
way.
We
are
so
proud.

My
father
had
instituted
the
Annapurna
Studios
in
1974
in
Hyderabad.

Before
that,
there
was
no
film
industry
in
Hyderabad.
Now,
the
film
industry
is
thriving
here.

The
whole
ecosystem
is
set
up.

I
feel
it’s
only
because
of
this
one
man
who
started
this.

His
fans
will
get
a
chance
to
walk
down
memory
lane
through
this
festival.

We
will
have
fans
from
all
over.
Senior
fans
who
are
75,
80
years
old.
They
are
coming
from
all
over
India.

Our
family
is
going
to
have
lunch
with
them.

The
celebrations
will
go
on.

My
father
had
a
dream
of
film
education,
so
we
have
started
the
Annapurna
College
of
Film
and
Media.
We
have
over
300
students.
They
are
doing
skits
and
shows
on
their
films.

This
is
like
the
Telugu
version
of
the
Raj
Kapoor
family.

When
I
look
at
Raj
Kapoorji‘s
family
history,
and
his
filmography,
it’s
incredible
what
he
has
done.

A
book
on
my
father
is
also
being
released
to
familiarise
my
father’s
work
over
India.