Hyderabad: Dadasaheb Phalke awardee and renowned veteran filmmaker Kasinadhuni Viswanath also known as 'Kalathapasvi' died at a private hospital here. He was 92. Viswanath was suffering from age-related issues and fell ill on Thursday, sources said. He passed away at Apollo Hospital in Jubilee Hills around midnight Thursday.
The Telugu film industry suffered a big loss due to the death of Viswanath, who has directed over 50 films since 1965. The industry conveyed its condolences to the bereaved family. Hailing from Peda Pulivarru village in Bapatla district of Andhra Pradesh, Vishwanath was born on February 19, 1930 to Kashinath's Subrahmanyam and Saraswathamma.
A prominent name not just in Telugu cinema but also in Tamil and Hindi films, he became the 48th recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke award, the highest recognition in Indian cinema. He was conferred with the award for the year 2016. Received Raghupathi Venkaiah Award in 1992 and Padma Shri in the same year.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao expressed his condolences over the death of Viswanath, a release from the Chief Minister's Office said.
Viswanath started his journey as a sound artiste. He directed award-winning films such as "Sankarabharanam", "Sagara Sangamam", "Swati Mutyam", "Saptapadi", "Kaamchor", "Sanjog" and "Jaag Utha Insaan". He was also the recipient of other honours include Padma Shri in 1992, five National Awards, 20 Nandi Awards (given by the Andhra Pradesh government) and 10 Filmfare trophies including the Lifetime Achievement award.
A celebrated filmmaker in the Telugu film industry, Viswanath had also been active in Tamil and Hindi cinema. He debuted as a director with "Aatma Gowravam", which starred Akkineni Nageswara Rao (ANR) and won the Nandi Award for the best feature film. The filmmaker followed it with "Chelleli Kapuram", "O Seeta Katha", "Jeevana Jyoti" and "Sarada".
Viswanath also ventured into mainstream acting, working in movies like "Swarabhishekam" (which he directed as well), "Pandurangadu", "Narasimha Naidu", "Lakshmi Narasimha" and "Seemasimham", "Kuruthipunal", "Kakkai Siraginilae" and "Bagavathi", among others. "Swathi Muthyam" was the first Telugu film and second South Indian film to contest for Oscars in 1986.
Viswanath completed Intermediate from Hindu College and B.Sc from Andhra Christian College in Guntur. His father used to work in Vijayavahini Studios in Chennai. After completing his degree, Vishwanath started his film career as a sound recordist in the same studio. For the first time, he worked as an assistant recordist for the movie Patal Bhairavi. In 1965, he got an opportunity to be the director of the movie 'Atmagauravam'. He received the Nandi Award for his first film.
Kalathapasvi has directed more than 50 films and has brought immense respect to the Telugu film industry. Vishwanath directed 9 films in Bollywood. He played important roles in many films.
