Popular producer and director Vijaya Bapineedu, who delivered many blockbusters in Telugu, passed away on Tuesday. Originally named Gutta Bapineedu Chowdhary, he was not keeping well from the last few days and finally breathed his last on Tuesday morning at his residence. Born on September 22, 1936 in Chataparru village near Eluru, Bapineedu completed his graduation from C.R.Reddy College and worked in the Public Health department for some time. He wrote several novels and also started the magazines Bommarillu and Vijaya in Chennai. After making his directorial debut with the film Maga Maharaju, Bapineedu worked on nearly 22 films, most of which were with Chiranjeevi and Sobhan Babu. Some of his blockbusters include Patnam Vachina Pativratalu, Maga Maharaju, Mahanagaramlo Mayagadu, Bharyamani, Magadheerudu, Naaku Pellam Kavali, Khaidi No.786, Gang Leader and Big Boss. Bapineedu also made a few films with Krishna and Rajendra Prasad while producing films.
The cremation will be held on Thursday at Mahaprasthanam in Film Nagar after the arrival of his elder daughter from the US. Both the Telangana and AP Chief Ministers K. Chandra Sekhar Rao and Chandrababu Naidu paid their tributes to Bapineedu along with several film personalities like Mohan Babu, K.S. Rama Rao and others.
The industry has lost a good human being, says Chiranjeevi
Reminiscing about Bapineedu, Megastar Chiranjeevi said, “The sudden demise of Vijaya Bapineedu is a complete shock to me. We did six films together and he always treated me like his family member. We both shared a special bond that will always be close to my heart.
Although I asked him to work with other actors, he used to say that he was very comfortable when he made films with me.” The veteran actor added, “When I shifted to Hyderabad from Chennai, I didn’t get a good house here, so Vijaya Bapineedu allowed me to stay at his guesthouse. He would always organise functions in a unique manner too.
My Gang Leader success event was held in four cities at the same time, creating quite a sensation! He gifted me an elephant idol at the 100 day function of my film Maga Maharaju. He always showered me with affection and even started a magazine titled, Chiranjeevi in which he published all the news about me. He did a very good job with it. It’s a personal loss to me and the industry has lost a good human being.”
