ANR centenary celebrations: ‘Mayabazar, ‘Devdasu’ among 10 restored classics screened across India

Akkineni Nageswara Rao Photo credit: File photo; Ramakrishna G

A retrospective film festival titled ANR 100: King of the Silver Screen will pay tribute to legendary actor Akkineni Nageswara Rao. To coincide with Doyen’s 100th birthday on September 20, the late actor’s family, in association with Film Heritage Foundation, National Film Development Corporation, National Film Archive of India and PVR-INX, will screen 10 of his most memorable films. The films will be screened in theaters from September 20 to 22 in 25 cities including Hyderabad, Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru, Vadodara, Jalandhar, Rourkela, Warangal, Kakinada and Tumkur.

Recovery is classic Devadasu (1953), Misamma (1955), Mayabazar (1957), Varya Varthalu (1961), Bully talk (1962), Doctor Chakraborty (1964), Sudigundalu (1968), love city (1971), Premabhishekam (1981) and honor (2014).

Film Heritage Foundation’s Shivendra Singh Dungarpur said the festival comes after successful previous ones by Amitabh Bachchan, Dilip Kumar and Dev Anand. This retrospective selection of films from 1953 to 2014 includes some of ANR’s greatest hits, which continue to resonate with people decades later.”

ANR Centenary Celebrations

Actor Nagarjuna Akkineni added, “My father was rightly called the Natsamrat for his ability to play various roles – from a saint to an alcoholic to a romantic hero – in a way that has remained in people’s hearts for decades. His performance in Devdasu, Premabhishekam, Doctor Chakraborty And Sudigundalu Still loved today. He was a pioneer; He founded Annapurna Studios, laying the first foundation of Telugu film industry in our state. We are proud of his legacy and through this festival audiences across the country will remember an icon of Indian cinema. We want to preserve this legacy so that people remember him for another 100 years.

Amitabh Bachchan, closely associated with the Film Heritage Foundation, recalls being impressed by ANR’s humility and simplicity. “This is the first time a retrospective has been done on this scale for a Telugu movie. The festival will give contemporary audiences an opportunity to experience the screen presence, versatility and range of ANR.”

In his 71-year career, ANR worked as an actor and producer in more than 250 films in Telugu, Hindi and Tamil.