Bommireddy Nagi Reddi (2 December 1912 – 25 February 2004) was an Indian film producer primarily associated with

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 ...

, along with notable contributions to

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

and

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

films. He co-founded

Vijaya Vauhini Studios Vijaya Vauhini Studios is a film production company based in Chennai, India. It is the combination of Vijaya Productions and Vauhini Studios. B. Nagi Reddy (Bommireddy Nagi Reddy) was the founder of Vijaya Productions and Moola Narayana Sw ...

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

, which was once the largest film studio in Asia by floor space. To distinguish him from his elder brother, filmmaker B. N. Reddi, he was popularly known as B. Nagi Reddi. Over his career, Nagi Reddi produced several acclaimed films, including '' Patala Bhairavi'' (1951), '' Missamma'' (1955), ''

Mayabazar ''Mayabazar'' () is a 1957 Indian epic film, epic Hindu mythological film directed by K. V. Reddy. It was produced by Nagi Reddi and Chakrapani (filmmaker), Chakrapani under their banner, Vijaya Vauhini Studios, Vijaya Productions. The film w ...

'' (1957), '' Gundamma Katha'' (1962), '' Enga Veetu Pillai'' (1965), and '' Nam Naadu'' (1969). He also produced Hindi films such as '' Ram Aur Shyam'' (1967), '' Julie'' (1975), and '' Swarg Narak'' (1978). His work spanned multiple languages and genres, earning him recognition across Indian cinema. Nagi Reddi served as the president of the Film Federation of India twice, during 1960–61 and 1962–63.

Film career

Nagi Reddi along with his friend and partner

Aluri Chakrapani Aluru Venkata Subbarao (5 August 1908 – 24 September 1975), popularly known by his pen name Chakrapani, was an Indian screenwriter, film producer, studio owner, and director in Telugu cinema. He received two Filmfare Awards and was notable f ...

produced over fifty films in four decades in the four South Indian languages and also in Hindi. He made mythological, devotional, and historical Telugu movies. Some of his more notable films include '' Pathala Bhairavi'', '' Maya Bazaar'', and '' Missamma''. He made most of his films in association with screenwriter Chakrapani. Nagi Reddi closed down Vijaya-Vahini after the Telugu film industry moved out of studios in the 1970s, and started the Vijaya Hospital and Vijaya Health Centre. A new award was incorporated, commemorating his 100th birth year, the Nagi Reddi, memorial Award for the best Telugu and Tamil family entertainers.

Personal life

He was married and had three sons and a daughter. One of his sons, B. Venkatarama Reddi, was a film producer.

Awards

;

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 ...

* Dada Saheb Phalke Award – 1986. *

National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Kannada The National Film Award for Best Kannada Feature Film is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the National Film Development Corporation of India. It is one of several awards presented for feature films and awarded with Rajat Ka ...

– ''Maduve Madinodu'' (1965) ;

Filmfare Awards The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Indian cinema.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were introduced by Filmfare magazine of The Times G ...

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 ...

– ''

'' (1957) * Filmfare Best Film Award (Telugu) – '' Gundamma Katha'' (1962) ;

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 ...

* The Government of

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

awarded him the Raghupathi Venkaiah Award in 1987. ;Tamil Nadu State Awards * The Government of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

awarded him the Kalaimamani Award in 1972. ;Other Honours * He was awarded an honorary doctorate by Srikrishnadevaraya University and Sri Venkateswara University. * A commemorative postage stamp was issued by

India Post The Department of Posts, d/b/a India Post, is an Indian Public Sector Undertakings in India, public sector postal system statutory body headquartered in New Delhi, India. It is an organisation under the Ministry of Communications (India), Minist ...

on 23 February 2018.

Other businesses and philanthropy

Nagi Reddi served as chairman of the board of Trustees of

Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) is an independent government trust in India managed by the Government of Andhra Pradesh. The trust primarily oversees the operations and finances of the richest and the most visited religious center Venkatesw ...

between 1980 and 1983, and is credited for building the Vaikuntam Queue Complex that now serves to regulate pilgrims for darshan in the

Tirumala Venkateswara Temple The Venkateswara Temple of Tirumala or Sri Venkateswara Swami Temple is a Hindu temple situated in the hills of Tirumala, Tirupati Urban Mandal in the Tirupati district of Andhra Pradesh, India. The temple is dedicated to Venkateswara, a for ...

. Nagi Reddi founded the Vijaya Medical & Educational Trust in 1972. The trust runs the Vijaya Hospital (1972), Vijaya Health Center (1987) and Vijaya Heart Foundation (1996). Nagi Reddi headed the South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce four times and the All-India Film Sammelan for two terms. He established the children's magazine ''

Chandamama ''Chandamama'' was a classic Indian monthly magazine for children, known for its illustrations and long-running mythological and magical stories. Originally launched in Telugu language, Telugu by Aluri Chakrapani, Chakrapani and Nagi Reddi, ...

'' in July 1947. The magazine was eventually printed in nearly a dozen different languages. He was the founder of Vijaya Hospitals in Vadapalani, Chennai.

Filmography

As producer

*'' Shavukaru'' (1950) (producer) *'' Patala Bhairavi'' (1951) (producer) *''

Pelli Chesi Choodu ''Pelli Chesi Choodu'' () is a 1952 Indian satirical comedy film directed by L. V. Prasad and produced by Nagi Reddi and Chakrapani under their company Vijaya Productions. The film was made simultaneously in Telugu and Tamil, the latter ti ...

'' (1952) (producer) *''

Chandraharam ''Chandraharam'' is a 1954 Indian swashbuckler film directed by Kamalakara Kameswara Rao in his debut. It was produced by Nagi Reddy- Chakrapani under the Vijaya Productions banner. The film, a Telugu-Tamil bilingual, stars N. T. Rama Rao, ...

'' (1954) (producer) *'' Guna Sundari'' (1955) (producer as B. Nagi Reddi) *''

Missiamma ''Missiamma'' () is a 1955 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film directed by L. V. Prasad. Produced by B. Nagi Reddy and Aluri Chakrapani Vijaya Vauhini Studios, the script was adapted by Chakrapani from the Bengali play ''Manmoyee Girls ...

'' (1955) (producer) *'' Missamma'' (1955) (producer) *'' Maya Bazaar'' (1957/II) (producer) *'' Maya Bazaar'' (1957/I) (producer) *''

Appu Chesi Pappu Koodu ''Appu Chesi Pappu Koodu'' () is a 1959 Indian Telugu-language comedy drama film directed and co-written by L. V. Prasad. The film was produced by Nagi Reddi and Chakrapani of Vijaya Productions; the latter co-wrote its script with Prasad ...

'' (1958) (producer) *'' Paigham'' (1959) (Producer) *'' Manithan Maravillai'' (1962) (producer) *'' Gundamma Katha'' (1962) (producer) *'' Enga Veettu Pillai'' (1965) (producer) (as B.Naggi Reddi) *'' Ram Aur Shyam'' (1967) (producer) (as B. Nagi Reddi) *'' Nam Naadu'' (1969) (producer) (as B. Nagi Reddi) *'' Ghar Ghar Ki Kahani'' (1970) (producer) (as B. Nagi Reddi) *'' Ganga Manga'' (1973) (producer) *'' Julie'' (1975) (producer) (as B. Nagi Reddi-Chakrapani) *''Sri Rajeswari Vilas Coffee Club'' (1976) (producer) *'' Yehi Hai Zindagi'' (1977) (producer) (as B. Nagi Reddi) *'' Swarg Narak'' (1978) (producer) (as B. Nagi Reddi) *''Swayamvar'' (1980) (producer) (as B. Nagi Reddi) *'' Shriman Shrimati'' (1982) (producer) (as B. Nagi Reddi) *''

Meendum Savithri ''Meendum Savithri'' () is a 1996 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by Visu and produced by Nagi Reddi. It stars Revathi, Saranya Ponvannan, Nizhalgal Ravi and Raja, with Ramesh Aravind, Visu, Nagesh, Jai Ganesh, Annapurna, Seetha and P ...

'' (1996) (producer) (as B. Nagi Reddi) *''Neti Savithri'' (1996) (producer) (as B. Nagi Reddi)

As Presenter

*'' Shriman Shrimati'' (1982) (presenter) (as B. Nagi Reddi) *''

Swayamvar ''Svayaṃvara'' ( ) is a matrimonial tradition in ancient Indian society where a bride, usually from '' Kṣatriya'' (warrior) caste, selects her husband from a group of assembled suitors either by her own choice or a public contest between her ...

'' (1980) (presenter) (as B. Nagi Reddi) *'' Swarg Narak'' (1978) (presenter) (as B. Nagi Reddi) *'' Yehi Hai Zindagi'' (1977) (presenter) (as B. Nagi Reddi) a.k.a. Yehi Hai Zindagi (India: Hindi title: video box title) *'' Julie'' (1975) (presenter) (as B. Nagi Reddi) *'' Prem Nagar'' (1974) (presenter) (as B. Nagi Reddi) *'' Ram Aur Shyam'' (1967) (presenter) (as B. Nagi Reddi)

In Editorial Department

*'' Hai Hai Nayaka'' (1989) (assistant editor)

As director

*'' Enga Veetu Penn'' (1966)

Thankful

*'' Ram Tere Kitne Nam'' (1985) (sincere thanks) (as Shri Nagi Reddi)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Reddy B. Nagi 1912 births 2004 deaths Filmfare Awards South winners Tamil film directors Film producers from Andhra Pradesh Dadasaheb Phalke Award recipients People from Kadapa district Film directors from Andhra Pradesh 20th-century Indian people Telugu film producers 20th-century Indian businesspeople