The mortal remains of Veteran Telugu Film director and Padma Shri awardee K Viswanath are being taken from his house to the crematorium for final rites.
K Viswanath passed away at his residence on Thursday at the age of 92 from age-related ailments.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao expressed his condolences over the death of Viswanath, who is famed for films like 'Sankarabharanam', 'Sagara Sangamam', 'Swathi Muthyam' and 'Swarna Kamalam.'
"Viswanath was a rare distinguished film director who chose an ordinary story and turned it into a classic movie on the silver screen with his amazing talent," he was quoted as saying in a statement from the Chief Minister's Office.
S S Rajamouli, Jr. NTR, Mammootty, and A R Rahman expressed their condolences on social media. Later Rajamouli attended his last rites with composer M M Keeravani.
KCR also recalled a discussion between Viswanath and him on movies, music and literature when he visited The film director, screenwriter and actor is the recipient of five National Film Awards, seven state Nandi Awards, 10 Filmfare Awards South, and a Filmfare Award in Hindi.
In 1992, he was awarded the Padma Shri and in 2017, the central government presented him with Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest award in Indian cinema.
After a short stint as a sound engineer, he began his filmmaking career under filmmaker Adurthi Subba Rao. Eventually, he went on to work as an assistant director on the 1951 Telugu film 'Pathala Bhairavi'.
His 1985 Telugu film "Swathimuthyam" starring Kamal Hassan was India's official entry for Best Foreign Language film at the 59th Academy Awards.
Viswanath began his career as an audiographer for Vauhini Studios in Chennai and made his entry into film direction at Annapurna Pictures under filmmaker Adurthi Subba Rao and K. Ramnoth. In 1965 he made his debut as a director with Telugu film 'Aatma Gowravam'.
Viswanath made his Bollywood debut with 1979 film 'Sargam', which is a remake of his 1976 Siri Siri Muvva. Some of his other popular Hindi films include Kaamchor, Shubh Kaamna, Jaag Utha Insan, Sanjog, Eeshwar and Dhanwaan.
In 1995, Viswanath debuted as an actor with Telugu film Subha Sankalpam. Viswanath had also acted in a television serials 'Siva Narayana Teertha', 'Chellamay', 'Suryiavamsam' and has appeared in several television commercials.
Born on February 19, 1930, in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh, Viswanath is survived by his wife and three children.
( With inputs from ANI )
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