Akkineni Nageswara Rao is an undisputed pride of not only Telugu Cinema but also Indian Cinema. His contribution to the world of Cinema as an actor, and establishing studios is unparalleled even till date. He is one of the main reasons for Telugu film industry flourishing in Hyderabad instead of Madras like in initial years.
Coming from an agricultural family in Ramapuram, Krishna District, ANR ventured into stage plays during his young years. He played many mythological characters in plays like Harischandra,Vipranarayanam, Kanakatara and social dramas like Telugu Thalli, Aasajyothi and Satyanwesham. Just as fate would have it, ANR was discovered in a coincidental manner by prominent film producer Ghantasala Raghuramaiah and was offered a chance to act in Cinema. Hence the long Film journey of ANR began with Dharmapatni- at the age of 17. ANR was acting in prominent mythological themed films like Balaraju, Keelu Gurram, Laila Majnu and so on but he was yet to make an impact on social drama genre of films. When ANR was selected for Devadasu, for the male protagonist role- there were many comments and raised eyebrows about his competency in performing for such challenging role. ANR took it like a challenge indeed and he excelled in the role of Devadasu in such a way that- Telugu People interchangeably associate Devadasu with ANR. The film marked the hit pair combination of ANR- Savitri: the most elegant appearances in Telugu Cinema ever.
It was ANR who could think of doing versatile roles in Telugu Cinema instead of confining to only one genre of films. After Devadasu, he acted in Vipranarayana which was totally contrasting to the role of former. Missamma arrived next in which he acted as a funny detective- proving once again that he is extremely talented and stays true to the character he plays. In short, the era of 1950s marked a great future for Telugu Cinema and the glory was written perfectly by ANR too. From then, ANR never looked back. He appeared along with stalwarts of that age Sr.NTR on screen in Gundamma Kadha without any hard feelings at all. He acted opposite every leading female lead of that age such as Bhanumathi, Savitri, Jamuna, Krishnakumari, Girija, L. Vijayalakshmi, Sowcar Janaki, B.Saroja and so on.
ANR evolved as an actor to Nata Samrat with the versatile roles he did on a large span of time and by 70s there was a new ANR. His combination with Vanisri was highly successful not only in commercial sphere but also performance wise. Prema Nagar, Secretary, Dasara Bullodu and so on were great hits from this combination.One cannot select which is the best film appearance of ANR till date. Let it be an estranged lover (Devadasu, Premabhishekam), or the timid poet (Tenali Ramakrishna), Abhimanyu (Mayabazar), An honest doctor (Dr.Chakravarthy), Arrogant yet businessman with heart (Prema Nagar, Secretary) till a concerned grandfather (Seetaramayya Gari Manavaralu) to Poet Valmiki (Sri Rama Rajyam)…the list is endless.
Apart from the acting arena, there is a lot to learn from ANR as a person. His determination, inner strength and the way he leads life sets a right example to not only actors but also people who want to excel in any field. He is a great example of those people who are extremely knowledgeable despite no formal educational training. An excellent orator and competent to speak in any topic, ANR is highly knowledgeable and friendly in the film industry.
Chiranjeevi- one of the trendsetters in the field of Telugu film dance said in an event that it was ANR who brought the concept of dancing and steps into Telugu Cinema and people like him sought inspiration from it.
