Happy Birthday K Raghavendra Rao: 5 films of the director that showcase how he succeeded in widely diverse genres

One of Tollywood’s most celebrated filmmakers, K Raghavendra Rao has directed over 100 movies in more than five decades of his career. Despite being generally grounded on commercial entertainers, Raghavendra Rao knows how to portray engaging stories in wildly diverse backgrounds. From Janaki Ramudu to Major Chandrakanth, no one tackles genres like this genius director. With each film, he picks up a beloved Tollywood genre and transforms it into both a commercial masterpiece and stunning example of that tradition. What an ingenious director Raghavendra Rao really is. As the director turns a year older today, we are especially proud of how his different genre films showcase the director’s extraordinary talent.

Do you believe in after death? Well, it’s often said that if someone dies with unfulfilled desires, he or she gets another life to fulfil it by being born again. In the same context, Janaki, a passionate dancer and singer and Ramudu, a talented village youth who die in sad circumstances due to economic differences, are reborn to reunite as their love life remains unfulfilled. A reincarnation tale is not often seen in Telugu cinema, and K Raghavendra Rao uses this theme for Akkineni Nagarjuna’s twelfth film Janaki Ramudu. It’s got excellent music by KV Mahadevan, brilliant camera work by KS Prakash and good storytelling by Raghavendra Rao.

One of the highest-grossing films of all time, Jagadeka Veerudu Athiloka Sundari is not just a massive hit, but also remains a cult-classic of Telugu cinema. With an almost entirely stellar cast, a maverick director and brilliant technicians, the film is all about a goddess who heads to the earth from heaven to find her lost supernatural ring when she takes a trip to the Himalayas with her court ladies. Its story is magnificent, too, proving it to be one of Raghavendra Rao’s best standalone outing, and the acting feels electric, with the performances by Chiranjeevi, Sridevi and maestro Ilaiyaraaja’s music really standing out.

Raghavendra Rao had collaborated with Chiranjeevi for an action-comedy entertainer Gharana Mogudu which was premiered at the 1993 International Film Festival of India in the mainstream section. The film, which is about a do-gooder factory labour Raju who marries the daughter of an industrialist went on to become the first Telugu film to collect over ₹ 10 crore share at the box office. This movie is carried by its cast, which is filled with such greats as Chiru, Nagma Rao Gopal Rao and Kaikala Satyanarayana. At the same time, Raghavendra Rao’s strong command of unusual filmmaking techniques makes Gharana Mogudu feel unique.

Patriotic films have a great impact than any other genre of cinema. Raghavendra Rao’s Major Chandrakanth is about a retired army major Chandrakanth who is troubled with the corruption and chaos in the society decides to start an uprising to bring change in his surroundings filled us with pride and made us introspect. This movie boasts of compelling performances from its cast including late legendary actor Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao, Mohan Babu, Sharada and Amrish Puri.

Movies about gods and goddesses always struck the right chord with the viewers as they might have unintentionally arrested the devotional in gimmick mode. The biographical devotional film featured Akkineni Nagarjuna in the titular role Annamayya who was a 15th-century Hindu saint also known for his compositions called Sankirtanas in praise of the Lord Venkateswara. People would keep their shoes outside the cinemas before going in to watch Annamayya. It was clear that, despite different genres, Raghavendra Rao's forte laid in a remarkable ability to present emotions and tribulations that the audience can deeply sympathize with.