Kamalakara Kameswara Rao

Kamalakara Kameswara Rao (4 October 1911 – 29 June 1998) was an Indian film director known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema, and few Tamil and Hindi films. Widely known as Pouraanika Chitra Brahma, Rao has directed fifty feature films in a variety of genres.[1] In 1960 he directed the biographical film, Mahakavi Kalidasu which won the President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film in Telugu.[2] In 1962 he directed Gundamma Katha based on the Shakespearean comedy, The Taming of the Shrew which received mixed reviews from critics but was commercially successful, completing a 100-day run in 17 centers and a silver-jubilee run at the Durga Kalamandir, Vijayawada. Gundamma Katha received the Filmfare Award for Best Film – Telugu.

Kamalakara Kameswara Rao
Born(1911-10-04)4 October 1911
Machilipatnam, Madras Presidency, British India (now in Andhra Pradesh, India)
Died29 June 1998(1998-06-29) (aged 86)
Nellore, Andhra Pradesh, India
OccupationFilm direction
EducationBachelor of Arts
Alma materNoble College, Machilipatnam
Period1940s to 1980s
GenreEpic
Historical
Notable worksMahakavi Kalidasu
Gundamma Katha
Mahamantri Timmarusu
Nartanasala

In the same year, he directed another biographical film, Mahamantri Timmarusu which won the President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film in Telugu at the 10th National Film Awards.[3] In 1963, Rao directed the blockbuster, epic mythological film Nartanasala.[4][5] The film is cited among CNN-IBN's list of the hundred greatest Indian films of all time.[6] The film has received wide critical acclaim and has garnered the National Film Award for Second Best Feature Film at the 11th National Film Awards, and has secured the Filmfare Award for Best Telugu Film. The film received awards for best production design and best actor for S. V. Ranga Rao, at the Jakarta International Film Festival.[4]

Life sketch

He was born in 1911 in Machilipatnam. He has completed Bachelor of Arts from the Noble College, Machilipatnam. He has worked as a Film journalist for Krishna Patrika between 1934 and 1937. His unbiased reviews about the released films are highly appreciated by the audiences.[7] On invitation from H. M. Reddy, he has reached Madras. He has joined as assistant director and worked with K. V. Reddy and Moola Narayana Swamy for the film Gruhalakshmi in 1938. He has worked as assistant director for the films Vande Mataram, Sumangali, Devatha and Swarga Seema under Bomireddi Narasimha Reddy and for Bhakta Potana and Yogi Vemana under Kadiri Venkata Reddy. After observing him closely, Vijaya Pictures has given the responsibility of independently direct Chandraharam in 1954. He has left Vijaya pictures in 1955. He has directed about 30 films of National Art Theatres, Rajyam Pictures, Ponnaloori Brothers, Padmalaya Pictures, Mahija pictures and Suresh Productions over the period of three decades. He used to describe the film Nartanasala (1963) as his best directoral work, which won many National and International awards.

Death

Rao died at the age of 88 years on 29 June 1998 due to cardiac arrest.

Filmography

Director

Assistant director

Awards
National Film Awards

References
  1. Kameswara Rao, Kamalakara, Luminaries of 20th Century, Part I, Potti Sriramulu Telugu University, Hyderabad, 2005, pp: 74–5.
  2. "8th National Film Awards". International Film Festival of India. Archived from the original on 23 November 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
  3. "10th National Film Awards". International Film Festival of India. Archived from the original on 29 September 2015. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  4. "11th National Film Awards". International Film Festival of India. Archived from the original on 2 May 2017. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
  5. "Directorate of Film Festival" (PDF). Iffi.nic.in. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 May 2017. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
  6. "100 Years of Indian Cinema: The 100 greatest Indian films of all time". IBNLive.
  7. "Kamalakara Kameswara Rao Jayanthi Today at Cinegoer.com". Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 19 August 2010.
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