Chitrapu Narayana Rao (born Chithrapu Narayana Murthy; 1913) was an
Indian film
The Cinema of India consists of motion pictures produced in India, which had a large effect on world cinema since the late 20th century. Major centers of film production across the country include Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, K ...
director and producer known for his works in
Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India
*Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language
** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode
S ...
and
Tamil cinema
Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood is a part of Indian Cinema; primarily engaged in production of motion pictures in the Tamil language. Based out of the Kodambakkam neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, it is popularly called ''Kollywo ...
. He received a
Certificate of Merit for the Third Best Tamil Film for ''
Edhir Paradhathu'' (1958) and ''
Annaiyin Aanai'' (1962). He also won the
Nandi Award for the 1967 Telugu film ''
Bhakta Prahlada''.
Personal life
He was born at
Machilipatnam
Machilipatnam (), also known as Masulipatnam and Bandar, is a city in Krishna district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipal corporation and the administrative headquarters of Krishna district. It is also the mandal headquarte ...
,
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to t ...
in 1913. Film director, Chitrapu Narasimha Rao, was his brother. He lost his son in 1962. He died in the year 1985.
Career
He started his film career assisting his younger brother Chitrapu Narasimha Rao in films like ''Seetha Kalyanam'', ''Sati Tulasi'', ''Mohini Rukhmangadha'' and ''Krishna Jarasandha''. His directorial debut was ''Bhakta Markandeya'' starring
Vemuri Gaggayya and
Sriranjani.
CineGoer.com - Nostalgia - Bhakta Prahlada
The film had done well establishing him as a director. He subsequently directed many movies like ''Myravana'', ''Bhakta Prahlada'', ''Daksha Yagnam'', ''Bheeshma'' in both Telugu and Tamil languages.
He has produced the film ''Krishna Kuchela'' in 1961. It was a failure and he went into financial problems. During the same period,
He wanted to direct a movie for AVM Productions
AVM Productions is an Indian film production studio founded by A. V. Meiyappan. It is the final oldest survived studio in India. The filming studios are located in Vadapalani, Chennai. It has produced over 300 films in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, ...
to regain his financial status. They started working on '' Bhakta Prahlada'' in 1965, for the first time in Eastman color. It was technically far superior to the Black and White version he made 25 years earlier. D. V. Narasa Raju was the co-writer for the project. The film was a box office success.
Awards
;Nandi Awards
The Nandi Awards are the awards that recognise the excellence in Telugu cinema, Telugu theatre and Telugu television, and Lifetime achievements in Indian cinema. Presented annually by the Government of Andhra Pradesh, the award is named af ...
* Nandi Award for Second Best Feature Film
The Nandi Awards are the awards that recognise the excellence in Telugu cinema, Telugu theatre and Telugu television, and Lifetime achievements in Indian cinema. Presented annually by the Government of Andhra Pradesh, the award is named after ...
(director) - '' Bhakta Prahlada''
Filmography
# ''Bhakta Markandeya (1938)''
# '' Mahiravana (1940)''
# '' Dakshayagnam (1941)''
# '' Bhakta Prahlada (1942)''
# ''Bhakta Kabir (1944)''
# ''Bhishma
Bhishma (Sanskrit: भीष्म, , ), also known as Pitamaha, Gangaputra, and Devavrata, played an integral role in Mahabharata. He was the supreme commander of the Kaurava forces during the Kurukshetra War mentioned in the Hindu epi ...
(1944)''
# ''Samsara Naradi (1944)''
# '' Brahma Ratham (1947)''
# ''Madalasa (1948)''
# '' Brahma Ratham (1949)''
# '' En Thangai (1952)''
# ''Naa Chellelu (1953)''
# '' Edhir Paradhathu (Tamil, 1954)''
# ''Adarshasati (1956)''
# ''Naga Panchami (1956/II)''
# ''Nagula Chaviti (1956)''
# '' Pathini Deivam (Tamil, 1957)''
# '' Annaiyin Aanai (Tamil, 1958)''
# ''Manamalai (Tamil, 1958)''
# ''Naan Valartha Thangai (Tamil, 1958)''
# ''Deivame Thunai (Tamil, 1959)''
# '' Bhaktha Sabari (Telugu, 1960)''
# ''Bhakta Shabari (Tamil, 1960)''
# ''Bhakta Shabari (Kannada, 1960)''
# ''Krishna Kuchela (1961) (director and producer)''
# ''Tallichina Ajna (1961)''
# '' Chittor Rani Padmini (Tamil, 1963)''
# ''Pativrata (1964)''
# '' Bhakta Prahlada (Telugu, 1967)''
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rao, Chitrapu Narayana
1913 births
1985 deaths
Telugu film producers
Telugu film directors
Film producers from Andhra Pradesh
Nandi Award winners
People from Krishna district
Film directors from Anhui
20th-century Indian film directors