Filmmaker Tatineni Ramarao breathes his last: Tollywood and Bollywood celebs mourn his passing

It was the end of an era on Tuesday when one of Telugu and Hindi cinema’s celebrated filmmakers, Tatineni Rama Rao, passed away at the age of 84.
The director, who was suffering from numerous medical issues, breathed his last at a Medical College in Chennai. Born in Kapileswarapuram in Krishna district, Rao was the man who established the ‘Madras movie’ phenomenon where Hindi films would be funded primarily by capital from the South.After working as an assistant director since the late 1950s, making his debut with the 1966 Telugu film Navarathri, Rao went on to deliver hits like Yamagola in Telugu with the late NTR and Judaai in Hindi with Jeetendra. Many of his Hindi films were in fact remakes of Telugu hits with the 2000 Govinda starrer Beti No 1, marking his last release.

Through his illustrious career, Rao worked with numerous celebrated actors like Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Sobhan Babu, Amitabh Bachchan, Rajinikanth and Dharmendra. The 1973 Jeevana Tarangalu was based on a novel and won him three Filmfare Awards South. 1977 Yamagola was such a hit, it was even remake in Hindi and Tamil later on as Lok Parlok and Yamanukku Yaman. He gave Amitabh Bachchan a hit with the 1984 film Inquilaab, a phase where the actor even entered politics.
Film personalities and fans from across the country took to social media to mourn his passing. Actor Anupam Kher took to social media to remember their association, Balakrishna issued a statement looking back on his films with the late NTR. Rao is survived by his wife, Tatineni Jayashree, and children Chamundeswari, Naga Suseela, Ajay and other family members. His final rites will take place on Wednesday evening.