Even on deathbed, Ramanaidu said let’s start a film: Anil Kapoor

Hyderabad: Film actor Anil Kapoor, who worked in D Ramanaidu’s biggest Hindi films, became emotional hearing about the death of the veteran producer.

“He used to call me his son. He would order his own kids to stand up when I would enter the room,” said the actor.

“Every time we met he would greet me as his hero. He ate, lived and died for movies. Every penny that Naidu Saab made was pumped back into making movies,” the actor said, adding, “I did four films with Naidu Saab — Insaaf Ki Awaaz, Rakhwala, Jeevan Ek Sangharsh and Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain.”

There was a fifth project that Kapoor did which was technically not Naidu’s but owned by him.

“It was a film called Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai. The entire venture and cast — Aishwarya Rai and me — was put together by Naidu Saab. Later, he handed over the film to my brother Boney because his production house was going through a rough phase,” recalled Kapoor.

Read: Veteran film producer, Dada Saheb Phalke winner Daggubati Ramanaidu passes away

He also allowed Satish Kaushik, whose career was going downhill after Prem and Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja, to direct Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai,” added Kapoor, who went to Hyderabad last week to meet the producer.

“When I heard he was unwell, I flew down to Hyderabad last week to see him. I didn’t know it would be my farewell meeting. He recognised me but could barely talk. But do you know what he mumbled? ‘Let’s start a Hindi film’. That’s what he always said whenever we met. He repeated the same even when he was dying. That is a true showman for you.

Naidu Saab is the last of the movie moguls, an independent movie producer who dreamt epic projects like S S Vasan and L V Prasad. I can’t imagine what cinema is going to be like without Naidu Saab,” Kapoor concluded.