Bongu Narsing Rao (born 1946) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, littérateur, composer, poet, producer, actor and painter known for his works in

Telugu cinema Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood, is the segment of Cinema of India, Indian cinema dedicated to the production of Film, motion pictures in the Telugu language, widely spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Based in Film N ...

, and Telugu theatre. Rao has garnered five

National Film Awards The National Film Awards are awards for artistic and technical merit given for "Excellence within the Cinema of India, Indian film industry". Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India ...

, three

Nandi Awards The Nandi Awards are annual awards presented by the Government of Andhra Pradesh to recognise excellence in Telugu cinema, theatre, and television, as well as lifetime achievements in Indian cinema. The awards are named after the monolithic ...

, various international honors, and has served as a jury in various Asian film festivals. He directed, '' Daasi'' "(Bonded Woman)" and '' Matti Manushulu'' "(Mud People)" which won the Diploma of Merit awards at the 16th and 17th

Moscow International Film Festival The Moscow International Film Festival (, Transliteration, translit. ''Moskóvskiy myezhdunaródniy kinofyestivál''; abbreviated as MIFF) is a film festival first held in Moscow in 1935 and became regular since 1959. From its inception to ...

s in 1989 and 1991 respectively. Internationally, Daasi was screened at the 1989

Filmfest München The Munich International Film Festival () is the largest summer film festival in Germany and second only in size and importance to the Berlinale. It has been held annually since 1983 and takes place in late June or early July. It presents fe ...

, 1990

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (, KVIFF) is an annual film festival held in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. The Karlovy Vary Festival is one of the oldest in the world and has become Central and Eastern Europe, Central and Eastern Eur ...

Three Continents Festival The Three Continents Festival ( French: ''Festival des 3 Continents'') is an annual film festival held since 1979 in Nantes, France, devoted to the cinemas of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. It was founded by Philippe and Alain Jalladeau.

Cairo International Film Festival The Cairo International Film Festival is an annual internationally accredited film festival held in Cairo Opera House. It was established in 1976 and has taken place every year since its inception, except for 2011 and 2013, when it was cancelled ...

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 ...

, 1991

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; 1994, Bergamo Film Meeting; 1994

Dublin International Film Festival The Dublin International Film Festival (DIFF; ) is an annual film festival that has been held in Dublin, Ireland, since 2003. History The Dublin International Film Festival was established in 2003. It was revived by Michael Dwyer (journalist), ...

; 1997

National Centre for the Performing Arts (India) National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ...

; and Filmotsav 90' Kolkata. 1987 film '' Maa Ooru'' ("Our Village") directed by him won the " Main Prize - Media Wave Award" at the Hungary International festival of visual arts, as well as the National Film Award for Best Anthropological/Ethnographic Film. ''Maa Ooru'' was premiered at the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival -

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

in 1999. The Ekotopfilm - International Festival of Sustainable Development Films in 1995,

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. The Brastislavia Mostra internazionale d'arte cinematografica in 1993,

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, Italy. The first

Mumbai International Film Festival The Mumbai International Film Festival for Documentary, Short and Animation Films (MIFF) is a festival organized in the city of Mumbai (formerly Bombay) by the Films Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Infor ...

for Documentary, Short and Animation Films in 1990 where the film won the Best Cinematography award. The International premier at Filmfest München in 1989, Germany. The Indian panorama section of the IFFI.

Early life

He was born in Pragnapur,

Medak Medak, formerly known as Siddapuram, is a town in Medak district of the Indian state of Telangana. It is a municipality and the headquarters of Medak mandal in Medak revenue division. Etymology and History Medak was originally named ''Met ...

in the erstwhile princely state of

Hyderabad state Hyderabad State () was a princely state in the Deccan region of south-central India with its capital at the city of Hyderabad. It is now divided into the present-day state of Telangana, the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka, and the ...

in a well to do agricultural family. Rao is married and has three sons and one daughter and seven grandchildren.

Mainstream

In 1979, he scripted, and produced ''

Maa Bhoomi ''Maa Bhoomi'' () is a 1979 Indian Telugu-language social problem film directed by Goutam Ghose in his debut. The film is produced by B. Narsing Rao, who also wrote the film with Goutam Ghose. The film is based on the novel ''Jab Khet Jage'' by ...

'', which was India's official entry in the "Opera Primo" section at the ''

'' of June–July 1980, and the ''

Cork Film Festival Cork International Film Festival (CIFF), also known the Cork Film Festival (), is a film festival held annually in Cork City, Ireland. It was established in 1956 as part of An Tóstal, and is Ireland's oldest and largest film festival. It is typ ...

'', October 1980, the Cairo and Sidney Film Festivals 1980. The film was showcased at the Indian Panorama of the 1980

International Film Festival of India The International Film Festival of India (IFFI), founded in 1952, is an annual film festival currently held in Goa, on the western coast of India. The festival aims at providing a common platform for the cinemas of the world to project the excel ...

. Maa Bhoomi won the state

Nandi Award for Best Feature Film This is the list of winners of the Nandi Award for Best Feature Films since 1964. Best Feature Film - Gold Second Best Feature Film - Silver Third Best Feature Film - Bronze References See also * Cinema of Andhra Pradesh {{DEFAULTSORT:Na ...

, and the

Filmfare Best Film Award (Telugu) The Filmfare Award for Best Film is given by the '' Filmfare'' magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films. The award was first given in 1954. Here is a list of the award winners and the nominees of the respective years. E ...

. It is featured among

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's list of hundred greatest Indian films of all time. In 1984, he directed '' Rangula Kala'', ("Colourful Dream") which had special mention at

and panorama section.

Non Feature Films

His documentaries in Telugu ''The Carnival'' (1984), ''The City'' (1985), ''Akruti- Rock formations'' (1989) have received special mention awards at the

International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) is the world's largest documentary film festival held annually since 1988 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Description IDFA is an independent, international meeting place for audiences ...

, and were screened at the

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. Akruti received the

National Film Award – Special Jury Award (non-feature film) National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

"For experimentation with forms of boulders of various shapes and textures, brilliantly visualized by Apurba Kishore Bir with the evocative music of Pandit

Hari Prasad Chaurasia Hariprasad Chaurasia (born 1 July 1938) is an Indian music director and classical flautist, who plays the bansuri, in the Hindustani classical tradition. Early life Chaurasia was born in Allahabad (1938) (present day Prayagraj) in the Indian ...

." as cited by the jury. In 2003, he directed '' Hari Villu'' screened at the 56th Cannes.

Honors

In 2015, he received the Life Time Achievement Award from Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University. In 2016, he received ''Standing Ovation Award'' for lifetime achievement at the All Lights India International Film Festival.

Filmography and awards

Feature films

Non-feature films

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rao, B. Narsing Indian documentary film directors Indian experimental filmmakers Indian documentary filmmakers Indian male screenwriters Nandi Award winners Media Wave Award winners Maoists Indian communists Indian male film actors Indian male stage actors Telugu film score composers Film directors from Telangana 1946 births Living people Telugu male actors People from Medak Filmfare Awards South winners Telugu-language lyricists Osmania University alumni 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights Telugu film directors Screenwriters from Telangana