PremiumANR’s statue inaugurated on his 100th birth anniversary; Mahesh Babu, Ram Charan, SS Rajamouli grace the event
The statue was unveiled at Annapurna Studios, which the actor-producer had founded
Last Updated: 01.58 PM, Sep 20, 2023
ANR, among the first Telugu actors to have given audiences a taste of what stardom and mass appeal could be, would’ve entered his 100th year had he been alive today. Starting his career as a child artiste with Dharma Patni in 1941 to having a posthumous release in 2014, Akkineni Nageswara Rao enjoyed an unparalleled seven-decade tryst with cinema, acting in over 250 films.
Celebrating his 100th birth anniversary at Annapurna Studios, which ANR had founded in early 1970s, his new statue was unveiled in the presence of his fans, family members, politicians and several dignitaries from the film fraternity this morning. His descendants Nagarjuna, Sumanth, Naga Chaitanya, Akhil Akkineni, Supriya Yarlagadda took on the onus to host the event on a grand scale.
Some of the attendees who graced the event included Mahesh Babu, Ram Charan, Jagapathi Babu, Rajendra Prasad, Mohan Babu, Brahmanandam, Murali Mohan, Jayasudha, Anupam Kher, composer Keeravaani, producer C Aswani Dutt, directors SS Rajamouli, Kodandarami Reddy, B Gopal, to name a few. Politicians Venkaiah Naidu, family friend Subbarami Reddy, ANR’s biographer Subbarami Reddy were also part of the centenary celebrations.
Brahmanandam spoke how ANR is a once-in-a-generation personality, called him a library for actors, who rose to great heights with barely any education. Mohan Babu was appreciative of the legend’s sense of humour on sets and shared an anecdote from his shoot experiences. SS Rajamouli recollected interacting with ANR on why he’d chosen to do a comedy role in Missamma despite being a star.
Jayasudha said it was a dream to have worked with ANR in his prime, spoke of his chivalry and remembered him encouraging her, despite not delivering Telugu dialogues well in her initial days. Subbarami Reddy recollected his friendship spanning decades with the star, despite the 20-year age gap. The sculptor of the ANR statue, Vineesh Vijayan, was also honoured at the event. Nagarjuna, Naga Susheela felt ANR was a thread that bound the family together every weekend.