A prolific director of Telugu cinema, Kodi Ramakrishna, passed away on Friday afternoon at a private hospital in Hyderabad. The director had not been feeling well for a few days when on Thursday, his family members had to rush him to a private hospital in Gachibowli. Eventually, Ramakrishna succumbed to his illness on Friday afternoon.
The filmmaker has been one of the most popular directors of Telugu cinema. He has directed over a hundred films, spanning various genres including socio-fantasy, socio-political, family and action. Ramakrishna has also displayed some of the best performances as an actor in the history of Tollywood.
Kodi Ramakrishna with Chiranjeevi (centre) and Gollapudi Maruthi Rao (right) on the sets of Intlo Ramayya Veedhilo Krishnayya.
Born and raised in Palakollu, Andhra Pradesh, Ramakrishna joined the industry as an assistant director to Dasari Narayana Rao, who also hails from the same village. He made his debut as a director with the film Intlo Ramayya Veedhilo Krishnayya (1982) that stars none other than Chiranjeevi. The film rocked the box-office, after which Ramakrishna never looked back.
Some of his best works include Tharangini, Mukkupudaka, Ahuthi, Thalmbralu, Bharath Bandh, Ankusam, Mangammagari Manavadu, Satruvu, Ammoru, Muddula Mamayya, Devi Putrudu, Anji, Police Brothers, Devi, Devullu, Arundhathi and many more! Ramakrishna has worked with almost every actor in the industry.
He worked actively for over 40 years and about 15 films directed by him alone released every year. He was also a man who dared to look past commercial cinema and target social subjects in his films. Ankusam, Police Brothers, Bharath Bandh, Ahuti and 20 Sathabdam are a few examples of his socially relevant works.
His film Ankusam, which made Rajasekhar a star, also portrays him a cop in it. The cop’s character was so effectively portrayed in this film, that it has continued to inspire the police force till date!
