A filmmaker with midas touch

Late D Rama Naidu, the recipient of Dadasaheb Phalke and other prestigious awards, was a prolific filmmaker, studio owner and politician. A statue sponsored by Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce, Telugu Film Producers Council and other trade bodies will be unveiled by Suresh Babu on June 6.

The stalwart, father of actor Venkatesh and grandfather of hotshot Rana Daggubati, holds the rare distinction of producing films in several Indian languages including Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi, Oriya, Punjabi, Bengali and in English. He holds the record for producing the biggest number of films by an individual.

"Ramanaidu always dreamt big and wanted to make films in all Indian languages and extended his footprint all over India," says director B Gopal, who made films like 'Bobbilli Raja' and adds, "He went by his hunch feeling and at times okayed scripts after listening to the first narration itself and later suggested some corrections, if necessary.

Hence, he could churn out more films, than anyone else in the industry," In fact, Rama Naidu produced more than 130 films in a career spanning about five decades, had a midas touch that made most of his films successful at the box-office. "He always believed that story was the king and didn't chase stars, although, he made with stars like NTR, ANR and Krishna and Sobhan Babu.

He stressed on bound-scripts and never allowed any changes in it. He also used be on the sets to ensure smooth-sailing shooting and freely mingled with unit members. He was one of the friendly producers in Telugu film industry," adds B Gopal.

His formula for success- to remake hit Telugu films in other languages- like 'Prem Nagar', 'Prem Qaidi', 'Tohfa', 'Maqsaad' and 'Anari' - to make pots of money. "Naidu garu realised the potential of Telugu films. So, whenever he delivered a blockbsuter in Telugu, he used to remake them in Hindi and Tamil Languages and most of the films worked wonders at the box office in various languages," says director Chandra Siddarth and adds "He wanted complete discipline on the sets.

He used to get annoyed whenever there was a delay in wrapping up scenes as planned. The friendly person would become furious because he believed in making films in specified budgets. He felt that overbudgeting happens due to lack of discipline and understanding of econonics of filmmaking. He said that the first success of a filmmaker lies in making films within budget," Talking about is command over the script, famed writer adds, "He used to participate in story discussions and suggested new ideas too. He preferred water-tight scripts with perfect screenplay and dialouges before going on to the sets.

He used to participate in music discussions and also used to discuss with lyricists, so that his films boast of evergreen music. He also had ear for good and melodious tunes," His Telugu films 'Jeevana Tarangalu' and 'Soggadu' won awards and his Bengali film 'Asukh' bagged National best feature film. Born in a family of agriculturists at Karamchedu village in present day Prakasam district in Coastal Andhra in 1937, Rama Naidu dabbled in business for a while, before taking a plunge into filmmaking.

He founded Suresh Productions and started making films in 1963 with 'Anuragam'. The ace producer went on to set up the state-of-the art Ramanaidu Film Studio in Hyderabad, besides another studio in the picturesque port city of Visakhapatnam. Rama Naidu joined TDP and represented Bapatla Lok Sabha constituency in the 13th Lok Sabha though he stayed away from politics after that. He set up a charitable trust that supports schools, colleges, old age homes and hospitals.

Rama Naidu was awarded an honorary doctorate by S V University, Tirupati. His elder son Suresh Babu is a leading producer, while younger son Venkatesh continues to be a successful hero in Telugu. His grandson Rana Daggubati has a successful career as an actor in Telugu with hits like 'Ghazi' and 'Nene Raju Nene Mantri' and Hindi films like 'Baby'. "His sons are carrying his legacy with consummate ease." adds famed writer.