IFFI Celebrates the Legacy of ANR on his Centenary

By Pickle November 22, 2024

From personal anecdotes to future tributes, the session honoured Akkineni Nageswara Rao’s timeless vision for Telugu cinema and beyond.

During the 55th edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), a special session was held to honour Akkineni Nageswara Rao (ANR), a pioneer in the field of cinema. The session was named “Centenary Special ANR: Celebrating the Life and Works of Akkineni Nageswara Rao.”

During the session, which took place at the Kala Academy in Panaji, his son, Nagarjuna Akkineni, engaged in a chat with Khushbu Sundar, who is well recognised as an actor.

A video that paid respect to ANR and highlighted his significant impact on the development of Telugu film was shown at the beginning of the event. A number of personal recollections of his father were recounted by Nagarjuna, who also underlined his father’s ambition for the sector.

“My father’s goal was clear: to make Telugu cinema a force to be reckoned with,” according to Nagarjuna. “He established Annapurna Studios, which remains a cornerstone of the industry today.”

In addition, he emphasised the foresight of ANR in making Telugu film accessible to the whole Indian population by stating, “His belief that language should not be a barrier was ahead of its time.”

During their conversation, Khushbu Sundar and Nagarjuna spoke on the duty of passing on ANR’s legacy through the generations. In addition, Nagarjuna said that “it’s about creating a platform for the next generation of filmmakers.” Nagarjuna attributed his family for the preservation of ANR’s goal via projects such as the Annapurna College of Film.

In an engagement question and answer session, Nagarjuna disclosed his intentions to create a documentary on ANR when he was asked about doing a biography on the actor. “A documentary would better capture the essence of his life and vision,” he further added.

The session concluded with Nagarjuna and Khushbu celebrating ANR’s timeless contributions to cinema, leaving the audience inspired by the enduring legacy of a cinematic legend.