East Godavari (Andhra Pradesh): The collapse of an iconic 150-year-old tree popularly known as 'cinema tree' among the locals has left an entire village grieving in Andhra Pradesh's East Godavari.
A Nidraganneru tree, on the banks of Godavari river at Kumaradevam village in Kovvuru mandal of East Godavari district, fell early on Monday morning (August 5) due to flood waters in the river.
The tree was not just any ordinary tree, but was a popular filming location and a loved location for locals and film buffs alike. The gigantic tree, with its huge canopy has faced many natural disasters and has been the stage for wonderful scenes in hundreds of movies. Many scenes and songs in about 300 movies have been shot under the shadow of the tree.
Famous directors Bapu, K Vishwanath, K Raghavendra Rao and actors including Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Chiranjeevi, Krishna, Krishnamraju, Balakrishna and Mohan Babu have shot movie sequences and songs here.
The tree has also witnessed the iconic scenes in films like Shankarabharanam, Trishulam, Sitaramayya Gari Manavaralu and other films thereby giving it the popular name of 'Cinema Tree'.
Locals lamented that the successive governments failed to pay attention to the pathetic condition of the tree which led to its collapse on Monday. Had the embankment of the Godavari river been strengthened over the years, the tree would have been standing tall today, they said.
After the Nidraganneru tree fell down on the banks of the Godavari river, an organization named Rajamahendravaram Rising Company came forward to replace it with another tree. It remains to be seen whether the new tree goes on to gain the popularity and love the 'Cinema Tree' attracted over the years.
