To honor the 100th birth anniversary of legendary South Indian actor Akkineni Nageswara Rao, a special multi-city film festival titled ‘ANR 100 – King Of The Silver Screen’ will be held. Organized by the Film Heritage Foundation (FHF), the festival will showcase 10 restored classics from Rao’s extensive film career. The festival is set to take place from September 20 to 22 across 25 cities, including major cities like Hyderabad, Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, and Bengaluru, as well as smaller cities such as Vadodara, Jalandhar, Rourkela, Warangal, Kakinada, and Tumkur.
The event, held in collaboration with the National Film Archive of India (NFDC) and PVR INOX, will feature iconic films such as ‘Devadasu’ (1953), ‘Missamma’ (1955), ‘Mayabazar’ (1957), ‘Gundamma Katha’ (1962), ‘Prem Nagar’ (1971), and ‘Manam’ (2014). Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, Filmmaker and FHF Director, expressed excitement over celebrating Telugu cinema’s heritage, highlighting Rao’s incredible versatility as an actor.
Akkineni Nagarjuna, son of Akkineni Nageswara Rao, expressed his pride in his father’s legacy, noting his father’s ability to play diverse roles and his contribution to the Telugu film industry. Actor Amitabh Bachchan praised Rao’s humility and said the festival aligns with FHF’s mission to preserve Indian cinema.
Akkineni Nageswara Rao, fondly known as ANR, had a career spanning 71 years with over 250 films in Telugu, Tamil, and Hindi. He received numerous awards, including the Padma Vibhushan and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award.
