Legend of Telugu film industry K. Viswanath who was popular for landmark films like Sankarabharanam, Sagara Sangamam, Swathi Muthyam and Swarna Kamalam, among others, breathed his last on Thursday at his Hyderabad residence. K. Viswanath was a 5-time national award winner and was suffering from age-related problems. He passed away at 92.
His carrier and Directorial start
He started his career as a sound technician at Vauhini Studios in Madras. After a brief stint as a sound engineer, he began his film career under filmmaker Adurthi Subba Rao and worked as assistant director on the 1951 Telugu film Pathala Bhairavi.
Viswanath made his directorial debut with the 1965 film Aatma Gowravam, which won the state Nandi Award.
It was with the popular and celebrated 1980 Telugu film Sankarabharanam that he became a national phenomenon, thanks to the film’s incredible success everywhere. The film talked about the gap between Carnatic and Western music from the perspective of people from two generations.
Sankarabharanam won four national awards. Later a Hindi remake, Sur Sangam, also directed by Viswanath, was made.
Rakesh Roshan on K. Viswanath
He was popular for his numerous collaborations with Rakesh Roshan in Bollywood. In an interview with IANS, Rakesh Roshan said Viswanath taught him everything about filmmaking.
“Viswanath ji was the one who taught me filmmaking. We made four films together. He would shoot throughout the day and leave the editing to me at night. When I edited Viswanath ji’s films I realized that I could direct films, He said”.
Last project of Viswanath ji and acting
His last project as a director was the 2010 Telugu film Subhapradam, starring Allari Naresh and Manjari Phadnis. He also acted in more than twenty films in the Tamil and Telugu industries.
Awards
In 1992 he received the Padma Shri and in 2017 the Dada Saheb Phalke award. He has won Filmfare awards eight times in a career spanning over four decades.
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