The Telugu film industry bid a tearful adieu to legendary director K. Viswanath, who passed away on Thursday night in Hyderabad.
Viswanath’s mortal remains were taken in a flower-decked vehicle from his residence in Filmnagar to the Panjagutta crematorium. Amid chanting of Om Namah Shivaya, his mortal remains were consigned to flames.
The who’s who of the Telugu film industry and political leaders made a beeline to the late filmmaker’s residence to pay their last respects. Former Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu, actors Chiranjeevi, Pawan Kalyan, Radhika, Nassar, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Bramhanandam, Ali, R. Narayanamurthy, Chandramohan, director S.S. Rajamouli, Trivikram Srinivas, L.B. Sriram, music director M. M Keeravani, Allu Arvind, and Vandematram Srinivas paid floral tributes.
The road leading to the director’s house was cordoned off. The street wore a grim look with residents of the locality mourning the loss. They recollected that they used to see him around often and how he used to greet them back with humility, sans any air of stardom.
Reminiscing their time with the ace director who made strides with his vision for cinema, film personalities shared their anecdotes at his residence on Road no. 11 of Filmnagar, Banjara Hills.
A star has not fallen but has been etched in the sky forever, said actor K. Narayana Murthy. “Tollywood can be described before Sankarabharanam and after Sankarabharanam. It was his benchmark movie and he changed the course of Telugu cinema and highlighted our language, music, and culture through his stories,” he said.
Musician Shobha Raju said Viswanath desired that every parent should teach their child how to sing or dance. “Several artistes who were recognised by him are now big in the industry. I shared a great on-screen chemistry with him and though we did few movies together, they turned out to be gems and will always remain my favourite,” said actor Chandra Mohan.
Actress Mihirah shared her experience as an assistant director for a documentary with Viswanath and spoke about his humility in explaining to her the craft of cinema and acting.
Senior actor Thilak said Viswanath used to act and recite dialogues for the actors, which was a revolutionary approach.
