Happy Birthday Akkineni Nageswara Rao: 5 best films of the legendary actor

On Akkineni Nageswara Rao's 92nd birthday, it is worth reminiscing the artistry of the actor. Here's a brief history of the iconoclastic actor and his five best performances.

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Nageswara Rao birthday, a look at 5 best films
Nageswara Rao birthday, a look at 5 best films

He was an actor, a superstar and most importantly, a good human being. We're talking about the legendary actor of Telugu cinema, Akkineni Nageswara Rao (ANR).

Nageswara Rao, who predominantly acted in theatre, donned female roles since women weren't allowed on stage at that time. After a successful venture in theatre, he made his acting debut at the age of 17 in the Dharma Patni (1951).

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In a career spanning seven decades, Nageswara Rao has acted in 250 films and won a legion of fans for his varied subjects and characters. Apart from being a star, ANR was a prolific writer. Most of his books were autobiographical works, the most famous of which are Nenu Na Jeevitham, the memoirs of his first visit to the US, Nenu Choosina America, and a poetic rendition of his personal thoughts, A Aalu.

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On October 19, 2013, Rao was diagnosed with colon cancer when he was shooting for his Manam. Nageswara Rao, who has always expressed his desire to act till his last breath, continued shooting for his final film after a major laparoscopic surgery, surprising many. His fantasy drama Manam made his wish come true and Rao passed away before the film's release on January 22, 2014.

On Akkineni Nageswara Rao's 92nd birthday, it is worth reminiscing the artistry of the actor. Here's a brief history on the iconoclastic actor and his five best performances.

Devadasu (1953):

Directed by Vedantam Raghavaiah, the film focuses on the iconic love story of Devadasu and Parvati, who have been in love since childhood. Upon release, the film received both critical and commercial success, especially Nageswara Rao as Devadasu gave a stellar performance. The film has achieved cult status, with terms and phrases from the film being widely cited. Devadasu also became a major breakthrough in Nageswara Rao's career.


Mayabazar (1957):

Often regarded as the classic fantasy film, Mayabazar is considered a landmark in both Telugu and Tamil cinema, with praise for its cast and technical aspects, despite the limitations of technology at the time. The story is an adaptation of the folk tale Sasirekha Parinayam, which in turn was based on the epic Mahabharata. It tells the story of Krishna (NT Rama Rao) and Ghatotkacha (SV Ranga Rao), who try to reunite Arjuna's son Abhimanyu (Nageswara Rao) with his love and Balarama's daughter Sasirekha (Savitri). The success of the film was so much that it made look some of the Hollywood films pale in comparison of that time.

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Aradhana (1962):

Directed by V Madhusudhan Rao, Aradhana is a love story involving four characters based on Bengali film Sagarika. It is still regarded as one of the finest love stories of Telugu cinema. Apart from Nageswara Rao, actor Savitri was lauded for her homespun character which is mixture of love, sacrifice, responsibility and service.


Prema Nagar (1971):

Based on the novel written by Koduri Kausalya Devi, Prema Nagar was the all-time blockbuster of that time. The newness in storytelling was widely appreciated and the film was remade in Tamil as Vasantha Maligai with legendary Tamil actor Sivaji Ganesan and in Hindi as Prem Nagar with Bollywood megastar Rajesh Khanna. Both the versions were declared blockbusters and the Telugu version ran for over 750 days.

Manam (2014):

Manam was the last film of Nageswara Rao, which was promoted as a "befitting send off" and a tribute from his son, Nagarjuna. he film is set in various time periods, over the course of a hundred years up until 2013, and deals with the concepts of rebirth and eternal love. The film also brought together his son and Tollywood superstar Nagarjuna, his grandsons Naga Chaitanya and Akhil Akkineni, and his daughter-in-law Amala Akkineni. Manam opened to rave reviews and outstanding reception from the audience. Interestingly, one of the versatile actors of Indian cinema, Kamal Haasan, who watched the film at a special screening said that he could not control his tears.