A Telugu filmmaker known for films such as Sankarabharanam, Sagara Sangamam, Swathi Muthyam, and Swarna Kamalam, among others, died on Thursday at his home in Hyderabad.
Telugu Filmmaker K. Viswanath died on Thursday at 92 at his home in Hyderabad from age-related ailments. The legendary Telugu filmmaker is known for films such as ‘Sankarabharanam’, ‘Sagara Sangamam’, ‘Swathi Muthyam’, and ‘Swarna Kamalam’. The five-time national award winner died at the age of 92.
Viswanath began his career in Madras as an audiographer for Vauhini Studios. After a brief stint as a sound engineer, he began his filmmaking career as an assistant director on the 1951 Telugu film ‘Pathala Bhairavi’ under filmmaker Adurthi Subba Rao.
Viswanath made his directorial debut in 1965 with the film ‘Aatma Gowravam’, which won the state Nandi award. Viswanath became a national phenomenon with the widely popular and celebrated 1980 Telugu film Sankarabharanam, thanks to the film’s phenomenal success everywhere. The film discussed the disparity between Carnatic and Western music from the perspectives of two generations. Sankarabharanam later won four National awards. It was later remade in Hindi as Sur Sangam, also directed by Viswana ..
Following the success of Sankarabharanam, K. Viswanath made several films with art, particularly music, as the backdrop. ‘Sagara Sangamam’, ‘Swati Kiranam’, ‘Swarna Kamalam’, ‘Sruthilayalu’, and ‘Swarabhishekam’ are a few of these films.
His 1985 Telugu film ‘Swati Muthyam’, starring Kamal Haasan as an autistic man who comes to the aid of a young widow, was India’s entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards.
‘Subhapradam’, a 2010 Telugu film starring Allari Naresh and Manjari Phadnis, was his most recent directorial project. He has also appeared in over a dozen films in the Telugu and Tamil industries.
