HYDERABAD: The film world has always been glossy and colourful when one watches a film in a comfortable cinema. It is also easy to hail a film as great or nail it as a flop. Very few are aware of the hardships, hard work and commitment shown by pioneers of film making in its formative period.
The personification of these qualities could be seen in Bommireddy Nagi Reddy (1912-2004) popularly known as B. Nagi Reddy, who can be described as one of the founding fathers of Telugu film industry.
Nanna Tho Nenu is a first person account of Nagi Reddy by his son Viswam with glimpses into the life and times of his father who gave a big push to the entire industry by setting up Vijjaya Vahini Studio in Chennai and produced legendary films like Missamma and Mayabazar .
The narrative takes off with an inspiring account of how a 20-year-old Nagi Reddy helped a poor person and saved the modesty of his daughter who was forced to offer him pleasure in return for Rs 500. It will be heartening for the readers to proceed further to read how he had also helped the helpless lass to marry a friend of her choice!
The personal reminiscences of production of films like Shavukaru (1950) followed by Patala Bhairavi bring out the charms of a bygone era of film-making where stories/scripts were written only for the audience unlike today’s practice of tailoring them to suit image of a particular hero.
Though the book under review largely belongs to the genre of a biographical sketch, it can easily be passed to be a work on the early history of film production and of the Telugu film industry as Nagi Reddy was inseparable with industry’s early phases of growth out of Chennai.
References to popular actors like N.T. Rama Rao, Sivaji Ganesan, MGR and Rajinikanth make an interesting reading even though today’s younger generation may not get connected with Nagi Reddy and his times.
As most of the Telugus have grown up reading Chandamama , the care taken by Nagi Reddy and his close friend Chakrapani in bringing out a good children’s publication is well captured by the writer. The work is also an indirect narration on the growth of Chennai and the entire unseen world of filmdom in second half of 20th century.
The author deserves commendation for nicely grouping biographical details into 37 chapters covering entire life of his father and the crisp writing style. One can surely enjoy reading this book.
Nanna Tho Nenu
(A biographical sketch of B Nagi Reddy)
By Viswam
Publishers: Vijaya Publications, Chennai, December 2015.
Pages: 280 pp; Rs.100
