‘Ramanaidu was a source of inspiration for many’

Naidu garu was simple, down-to-earth, caring and a stickler for discipline. He had a strong intuition to decide on his priorities in which money and power never topped the list. He was driven by sole ambition all through his life and that was to light up others lives. This was D. Ramanaidu, who breathed his last a couple of days before, for actor and writer Gollapudi Maruthi Rao.

Reminiscing about their good old days at a condolence meeting organised by Vizag Film Society (VFS) on Friday, he said: “Naidu garu, was passionate about films. However, what many people do not know is that before getting into filmmaking, he was a farmer, a compounder and a businessman as well. Once he entered the film industry, there was no looking back as he involved himself in different facets of filmmaking.”

Veteran cinematographer M.V. Raghu explained how Movie Moghul Ramanaidu became his close associate ever since he directed

Kallu in 1988. He said that he enjoyed sharing creative space with the legendary producer during the making of

Brahma Puthrudu , among other films.

In a way, ace film producer was a source of inspiration for star-maker L. Satyanand to try his hand at script writing. “It was in 1999 that director K. Raghavendra Rao suggested me to do a street-play on the legendary producer’s life. Then, Naidu garu was Telugu Desam MP who contested from Bapatla. To stay in tune with the political mood, I named the street-play as

Ramanaidu Garini Gelipinchandi . After watching the play Ramanaidu appreciated my work.” adds the star-maker.

Narava Prakasa Rao of VFS spoke on Ramanaidu’s significant contributions to Telugu film industry.