'ANR LIVES ON': NAGARJUNA CELEBRATES 100 YEARS OF FATHER AKKINENI NAGESWARA RAO

Superstar Nagarjuna is celebrating 100 years of his father, the legendary Akkineni Nageswara Rao (ANR). Ahead of the veteran actor’s 100th birth anniversary, Nagarjuna and family have prepared for a special film festival, offering fans a rare chance to relive the magic of ANR’s memorable films on the big screen. ANR’s centenary falls on Friday, September 20. In a heartfelt post on X, Nagarjuna shared a picture, featuring the evergreen classics that will be screened during the three-day festival.

“Celebrating 100 years of my dear father Sri Akkineni Nageshwar Rao. #ANRLivesOn in our hearts with these evergreen classics,” he noted, further sharing the link for booking tickets for the ANR films.

The poster consists of a few handpicked films, including Devadasu, Missamma, Mayabazar, Bharya Bhartalu, Gundamma Katha, Doctor Chakravarthy, Sudigundalu, Prema Nagar, Prema Abhishekam and Manam. Audiences will be able to rewatch these classics in theatres from September 20 to September 22.

“King of the Silver Screen. Relive the Evergreen ANR Classics,” the message read on the poster shared by Nagarjuna.

Ahead of the festival, the Ninne Pelladata actor opened up about his late father’s legacy that he left behind. “He literally passed away with his boots on. Now that they are having a richly deserved festival of his films, we are very happy,” he told Times Now, adding that the negatives of his films were obtained from the National Film Archive.

Nagarjuna opened up about watching all the films by his father and added that the festival will kickstart in Hyderabad with Devadasu. “My father was the first one to do it, actually. It was a feather in his cap, the Devdas production. So we’re going to start the festival in Hyderabad with Devadasu. And the I&B ministry is also involved in it. It’s a historic moment. September 20 is my father’s birthday. So, the whole family will be at the theatre,” he continued.

Expressing pride, he recalled how his father instituted the Annapurna Studios back in 1974 when he believed “there was nothing, no film industry” in Hyderabad. “The film industry is thriving here. And you know what kind of films are coming out of Hyderabad now. And the whole industry, the whole ecosystem is set up. I feel it’s only because of this one man who started this, who took this step,” he added.

2024-09-19T07:21:37Z dg43tfdfdgfd