Legendary Telugu filmmaker K. Viswanath, who was beloved for exemplary films such as Sankarabharanam, Sagara Sangamam, Swathi Muthyam and Swarna Kamalam, breathed his last on Thursday at his home in Hyderabad. The five-time national award winner was suffering from age-related illnesses. He was 92.
Viswanath started his career as an audiographer for Vauhini Studios in Madras. After working as a sound engineer for a brief time, he worked under Adurthi Subba Rao and went on to work as an assistant director on 1951 Telugu film Pathala Bhairavi.
Viswanath did his directorial debut with 1965 film Aatma Gowravam, which won the state Nandi award. In 1980, Sankarabharanam was the significant change for Viswanath as he became a a nationwide sensation, thanks to the film’s unbelievable fame everywhere. The film discussed the difference between Carnatic music and Western music, based on the viewpoint of people from two different generations.
Sankarabharanam won four National awards. It was later remade as Sur Sangam, also directed by Viswanath, in Hindi. After the success of Sankarabharanam, Viswanath continued to make many more films that has art and music as the backdrop like Sagara Sangamam, Swati Kiranam, Swarna Kamalam, Sruthilayalu and Swarabhishekam. Incidentally, K Viswanath Passed away on the same day Sankarabharanam released.
His 1985 Telugu film Swati Muthyam, starring Kamal Haasan in the main character as an autistic man who shows up to protect a young Widow was India’s entry for Best Language Foreign Film for the Academy Awards.
Viswanath made his Bollywood debut with 1979 film Sargam, which was a remake of his own movie Siri Siri Muvva. Some of his other popular Hindi films comprise Kaamchor, Shubh Kaamna, Jaag Utha Insan, Sanjog, Eeshwar and Dhanwaan.
His last directorial project was the 2010 Telugu film Subhapradam starring Allari Naresh and Manjari Phadnis. He also acted in over two dozen films across Telugu and Tamil industries and was seen last on screen in Uttama Villain (2015). In 1992, they awarded him the Padma Shri and the Dada Saheb Phalke award in 2017. He had won the Film fare awards eight times in a career spanning over four decades.
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