Legendary actor Akkineni Nageswara Rao dies at 90

Hyderabad, Another tragedy struck the Tollywood film industry on Wednesday when legendary actor, Akkineni Nageswara Rao succumbed to cancer in Hyderabad.

According to reports, ANR’s, 90, condition worsened at around 1.30 am Wednesday early morning, and he was rushed to hospital where he died. 

The actor is survived by three daughters and two sons.

As per reports, he was wheeled into Care Hospital, Banjara Hills after his condition noticeably deteriorated. Doctors attended to him for almost an hour, but the veteran actor breathed his last at around 2.45 am.  His body was then shifted to his residence.  At around 9.00 am his dead body will be moved to Annapurna Studio.

Akkineni Nageshwara Rao, better known as ANR, was born on September 20, 1924 in Venkata Raghavapuram in Krishna district. His outstanding contribution to films saw him get the Padma Bhushan in 1988. Prior to that he was also awarded the Padma Sree and Raghupati Venkaiah awards. In spite of suffering from the fatal disease, ANR, known for his spirited attitude, was shooting for Manam. The movie also stars his son, Nagarjuna, and grandson Naga Chaitanya. 

Known to do things differently, ANR also held  a press conference to clear all the speculations surrounding his disease. He was the first actor to do so. 

ANR was one of the first generation actors in Telugu.  His first movie Dharmapatni was released in 1941, and he went on to act in nearly 256 films. He was instrumental in getting Telugu film industry shifted to Hyderabad. He received three Filmfare awards, and also won the Nandi Award for Bangaru Kutumbam and Megha Sandesam. Interestingly, he was the first actor to play double role in Telugu.

ANR's started his career playing female roles on stage. He and Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao better known as NTR were considered to be the two pillars on which the Telugu film industry thrived. Some of his hit films include,Tenali Rama Krishna, Devdas, Maya Bazaar, Missamma, Muga Manasulu, Dr. Chakravarthi, Dasara Bullodu, Prem Nagar, Premabhishekam, Seetaramayyagari Manavaralu.  

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