BREAKING NEWS: Well-known film producer Dasari Narayana Rao dead

Hyderabad, May 30 Veteran Telugu film director Dasari Narayana Rao died at a private hospital after suffering from prolonged illness in Hyderabad on Tuesday. He was 75. He was under the medical care in KIMS Hospital for a while now due to multiple organ problems and had to undergo two surgeries in five months.
In February, his health condition got critical and he was put on dialysis and ventilator support after he complained of a problem in breathing. His kidney and lungs had failed. The director had to undergo a surgery later for the same. He was said to be on the path of recovery as the hospital officials said he was responding well to the treatment after surgery. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and other Telugu film stars including Chiranjeevi, Allu Arvind, Mohan Babu, Murali Mohan and Jayasudha had visited the hospital to enquire about Dasari’s health at the time.
He celebrated his 75th birthday on May 4. Four days ago, he was again taken to the hospital, where his health deteriorated and another surgery was performed on him. The hospital bulletin on Tuesday evening said Dasari’s condition was critical. He eventually suffered a heart failure from which he dudn’t recover.
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Dasari made debut as a director in 1972 with Tata Manavadu, for which he won the prestigious Nandi Award for Best Feature Film. And he never looked back. He was one of the seasoned Indian filmmakers with two National Awards under his belt. He had helmed about 151 films, produced 53 films and worked in more than 250 films in different capacities as a writer and lyrics. He entered the Limca World Record for doing a maximum number of films as a director in India. He has also made his mark in Hindi cinema and he achieved a pan-India recognition when he directed legendary actor Rajesh Khanna in films like Asha Jyoti and Aaj Ka M.L.A. Ram Avtar in 1984. Dasari also aspired to a film based on the life of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa following her demise.
He was also instrumental in launching the careers of popular actors and filmmakers in the Telugu film industry like Mohan Babu, R. Narayana Murthy, Raviraja Pinisetty among others.
Dasari was also a seasoned politician and said to be a close confidante of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi. He was also a former Union Minister of State for Coal in the Manmohan Singh government and was chargesheeted in the coal scam. It is, indeed, a great loss to the entire Indian film fraternity. The who’s who of the film industry is expressing their condolences on social media.
–IANS