K. Raghavendra Rao

A Legend of Telugu Cinema from South India, K.Raghavendra Rao's career spans 4 decades during which he has directed 110 films to date and has produced over 25 films in various Indian Languages. He started his career successfully in 1975 having a long association with the icon of Telugu Cinema, the late N.T.R (ex-chief minister) and continues into the 21st century having worked though 5 generations of stars that include NTR & ANR, Krishna & ShobanBabu, Chiranjeevi & Balakrishna, Nagarjun & Venkatesh, Mahesh Babu, Jr. NTR & Allu Arjun. He is credited with having longstanding relationships with some of the biggest stars of Telugu cinema noteworthy of them being 12 films with the late NTR ( a resurgence with which he went on to become the chief minister), 8 films with Chiranjeevi ( the most by any director) and 17 films with Sridevi (the most by any director). He has introduced and launched the careers of Venkatesh (son of D.Rama Naidu), Mahesh Babu (son of Krishna), Jr. NTR (grandson of Late NTR) and Allu Arjun (nephew of Chiranjeevi) apart from many heroines like Sridevi, Jaya Prada, Ramya Krishna, etc. His foray into Hindi cinema in the 80's included blockbuster hits like Himatwaala, Tofha, Justice Choudary, Farz Aur Kanoon, Jani Dhost, among others(16 films). He is credited with the resurgence of Jeethandra as the jumping jack of Hindi cinema. As per independent estimates, the box office impact of his Hindi films adjusted for inflation in today's terms is over Rs.200 crores and puts him among the most successful directors in Indian film history. (Source IBOS Networks). He has also credited with directing all 3 generations of families that include the Late NTR, ANR (Annapoorna Studios), D.Rama Naidu (Suresh Productions) and L.V Prasad ( Prasad Labs & ACS). His assistants include successful directors like B.Gopal, Kondandaram Reddy, S.S. Raj Mauli, Chandrasekar, YVS Choudary, etc. He has also served as the Electronic Media Advisor, a Cabinet rank for the Chandrababu Naidu Govt. He has to his credit 1 National Award, over 10 State awards, 2 Filmfare awards and a Filmfare Life Time Achievement Award for his contribution to Indian Cinema.