Renowned Telugu film director and actor Kasinathuni Viswanath on Tuesday said he would pray to God not to let success go to his head. “I want to be humble for I know that these awards are temporary,” said the veteran filmmaker, addressing a meeting organised by the State government to felicitate him.
Mr. Viswanath said he was thankful to his parents for the recognition he was bestowed in the form of Dadasaheb Phalke Award by the Union government and this State felicitation. “Hard work always pays,” he said.
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said Viswanath was a ‘national treasure’ and ‘we all must take great pride in the fact that great personalities like the late N.T. Rama Rao, Viswanath and many others were born in this Telugu land.
Pointing to how Mr. Viswanath had started his journey in the Telugu film industry as a sound artiste, he said but destiny spotted his talent and he went on to direct award-winning films such as Sankarabharanam, Sagara Sangamam, Swati Mutyam and Saptapadi.
His other honours included Padma Shri in 1992, five National Awards, 20 Nandi Awards (given by the Andhra Pradesh government) and 10 Filmfare trophies including the Lifetime Achievement award.
Mr. Naidu said there was no dearth of talent in Navyandhra Pradesh. “We have a rich heritage and culture which we need to foster and promote in a big way,” he reiterated.
Deputy Speaker in the AP Assembly Mandali Buddha Prasad said Mr. Viswanath was the first recipient of Dadasaheb Phalke Award from Andhra Pradesh, who was given a standing ovation by the national audience.
Born in a sleepy village Pedapulivarru located on the banks of river Krishna in Repalle of Guntur district, Mr. Viswanath went to a municipal high school in Vijayawada and spent his college days in Guntur.
“He generated a revolution in Telugu film industry and has successfully rekindled interest among people of this land in the Telugu culture and traditions through his films,” said Mr. Buddha Prasad and went on to speak about how the ace director had spotted talents like Veturi Sundara Ramamurthy and Sirivennela Seetarama Sastry.
He said Andhra Pradesh, at the moment, may be facing serious financial crunch “but we have loads of talent that can take us a long way.”
In what was called Aatmiya sanmanam , Mr. Naidu wrapped the ace director in a shimmering shawl and honoured him with a gajamaala .
