Veteran film producer D.V.S. Raju (82) passed away in a hospital here on Saturday morning after illness for nearly a fortnight. He is survived by a son and two daughters. Mr. Raju was said to be depressed since the death of his eldest son due to a heart attack a few months ago.
The demise of the former Chairman of the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) came as a shock to the film industry as it considered him a father figure. A steady stream of visitors paid homage to him at his residence in Film Nagar.
Mr. Raju was among those who played a vital role in shifting of the Telugu film industry from Madras to Hyderabad when N.T. Rama Rao was Chief Minister.
ADVERTISEMENT
He was conferred the Padma Shri in 2001 and the Raghupati Venkaiah Award in 1988 for lifetime achievement. In all, Mr. Raju produced about 25 films, including ‘Mujhe Insaaf Chaahiye' in Hindi, starring Rekha, Rati Agnihotri and Mithun Chakraborty. Many of his films enjoyed 100 days' screening, including ‘Mangamma Sapadham', Pidigu Ramudu', ‘Thikka Sankarayya', ‘Dhanamaa Daivamaa', ‘Chanakya Sapadham' and ‘Jeevana Jyothi' that bagged a Golden Nandi.
As NFDC Chairman, he was instrumental in co-funding the making of Richard Attenborough's Oscar-award winning film ‘Gandhi.'
A host of leaders paid homage to the doyen of the Telugu film industry.
ADVERTISEMENT