Award-winning filmmaker, critic and director K.N.T Sastry passed away in the city on Thursday. He was 70.
Starting his career as a journalist, Mr. Sastry moved on to a different world making niche movies with messages. He directed about 10 movies and wrote an equal number of books.
One of his landmark films was ‘Thiladanam’ which put the spotlight on society in an unconventional way.
Mr. Sastry turned a short story written by R. Nageswara Rao of Guntur, that he had read in a Telugu daily, into the 89-minute movie. The movie shows the conflict between left-wing extremism and Brahminism between a father and son, and the blinding attraction of money. He also documented the struggles of the Surabhi family involved in theatre for generations.
It won the best film award in ethnography category in 1999. This was 10 years after he won the Rajat Kamal national award for best critic award. His last film was Shaanu produced by CFSI. He won two Nandi Awards besides showcasing movies in foreign film festivals.
