Akkineni Nageswara Rao

Akkineni Nageswara Rao September 20 1923 January 22 2014 known by the initialism ANR was an Indian actor and film producer who worked predominantly in Telugu cinema alongside appearances in Tamil films After starting in theatre and making his screen debut in Dharmapatni 1941 he achieved his breakthrough as a leading man in the folklore fantasy Balaraju 1948 and the romance Keelu Gurram 1949 Throughout the 1950s and 1960s he established himself as a central figure in South Indian cinema headlining the tragic romance Devadasu 1953 the social comedies Missamma 1955 and Gundamma Katha 1962 the mythological drama Mayabazar 1957 and the drama Doctor Chakravarthy 1964 In the 1970s and 1980s Rao continued as a commercial lead in the romantic drama Prema Nagar 1971 the musical drama Meghasandesam 1982 and the romance Premabhishekam 1981 Beginning in the 1990s he transitioned into senior character roles starring in the family drama Seetharamaiah Gari Manavaralu 1991 Bangaru Kutumbam 1994 and the devotional features Sri Ramadasu 2006 and Sri Rama Rajyam 2011 His final screen appearance was in the fantasy drama Manam 2014 which he also coproduced Beyond acting he established Annapurna Studios in Hyderabad For his contributions to cinema he was awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1990 followed by the Padma Vibhushan in 2011