Annapurna Studios is an Indian film production company, founded in 1976 by the actor

Akkineni Nageswara Rao Akkineni Nageswara Rao (20 September 1923 – 22 January 2014), widely known as ANR, was an Indian actor and producer, known for his works majorly in Telugu cinema. He starred in many landmark films in his seventy five-year career, and became on ...

(ANR). Located in the heart of

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

Foundation

The studio was inaugurated by the then President of India Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed on 14 January 1976.

Studio floors and backlots

Annapurna Studios built its first studio floor in 1976 which spans an area of . The second studio was built in 1978. Located in the heart of

the studio mainly provides services for films including sound stages for set construction, outdoor sets, floors, back-lots, data storage, editing, dubbing, foley/SFX, visual effects, digital intermediate, Dolby Vision/HDR, stereo and near field mixing, Dolby Atmos sound mixing, 5.1/7.1/9.1 sound mixing, conforming and mastering, HD/UHD/DCP mastering, screening theatres among other amenities. In 2011, Annapurna Studios invested in building five new floors wherein the biggest floor spans an area of . This new facility features green rooms for artists & technicians, in-house 1520 kV generator capacity, catwalk grids for easy light settings, cyclorama/bluemat for special effects and inbuilt fire-fighting and detection systems. It also includes a space for dance rehearsals, photo-shoots and press-meets. Within the first few months this new facility had catered to over 35–40 prominent Tollywood productions including ''

Naayak ''Naayak'' () is a 2013 Indian Telugu-language action comedy film directed by V. V. Vinayak who co-wrote the film with Akula Siva. The film was produced by DVV Danayya and presented by S. Radha Krishna under the banner Universal Media. The f ...

'', '' Gabbar Singh'', '' Mirchi'', '' Dammu'', ''

Julayi ''Julayi'' () is a 2012 Indian Telugu-language action comedy film written and directed by Trivikram Srinivas, and produced by S. Radha Krishna under Haarika & Hassine Creations banner. The film stars Allu Arjun, Ileana D'Cruz, Sonu Sood, and R ...

'', ''

Shadow A shadow is a dark area where light from a light source is blocked by an opaque object. It occupies all of the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross section of a shadow is a two-dimensional silhouette ...

'', '' Baadshah'', ''

Greeku Veerudu ''Greeku Veerudu'' () is a 2013 Telugu-language romantic comedy film produced by D. Sivaprasad Reddy on Kamakshi Movies banner, directed by Dasarath. Starring Nagarjuna Akkineni, Nayanthara and music composed by S. Thaman. It is dubbed into ...

'' and '' Iddarammayilatho''. It also played host to TV Commercial shoots for Malabar Gold, Mahindra Tractor, Joy Allukas, Jos Allukas, Kalyan Jewellers. Shooting of 3D & Reality Show projects is in the pipeline.

Annapurna Pictures

By the turn of the 1950s, Akkineni Nageswara Rao was a sought-after star. His friend-philosopher-guide and mentor from his

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perfor ...

days, Dukkipati Madhusudana Rao felt it was the right time to launch an own

production company A production company, production house, production studio, or a production team is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, a ...

. Thus was born Annapurna Pictures (P) Ltd, named after Madhusudana Rao’s stepmother. Besides Madhusudana Rao and Nageswara Rao, Katragadda Srinivasa Rao, Koratala Prakasa Rao and T. V. A. Subbarao were its partners. The company was registered in 1951 with Nageswara Rao as chairman and Madhusudana Rao as Managing Director. The first film made on the banner was ''

Donga Ramudu Donga Ramudu may refer to: * Donga Ramudu (1955 film), an Indian Telugu-language drama film * Donga Ramudu (1988 film) ''Donga Ramudu'' is a 1988 Telugu-language action film, produced Chalasani Gopi by under the Gopi Art Pictures banner and dire ...

'' (1955). The film was co-written and directed by K. V. Reddy. It starred Akkineni Nageswara Rao,

Savitri Savitri or Savithrri may refer to: In Hinduism * Savitri, with all vowels short, a Roman-phonetic spelling of the Rigvedic solar deity Savitr *Sāvitrī, a name of the ''Gayatri Mantra'' dedicated to Savitr *Savitri (goddess), the consort of Brah ...

, and Jamuna, with music composed by Pendyala. The film was archived in the curriculum of the

Film and Television Institute of India The Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) is a film institute under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India and aided by the Central Government of India. It is situated on the premises of the erstwhile ...

. It was dubbed in Tamil as ''Thiruttu Raman'' (1956). It was later remade in Hindi as '' Man-Mauji'' (1962) and again in Tamil as '' Vasanthi'' (1988). Later Annapurna Pictures produced films like '' Thodi Kodallu'' (1957), ''Iddaru Mitrulu'' (1961), ''

Chaduvukunna Ammayilu ''Chaduvukunna Ammayilu'' () is a 1963 Indian Telugu-language drama film directed by Adurthi Subba Rao. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Savitri, Krishna Kumari with music composed by S. Rajeswara Rao. It was produced by D. Madhusudhana Rao un ...

'' (1963), '' Doctor Chakravarty'' (1964), '' Aatma Gowravam'' (1965), '' Aatmiyulu'' (1969).

Film production

AA Combines

AS Combines

Great India Entertainments

Annapurna Pictures

*1987

America Abbayi ''America Abbayi'' () is a 1987 Indian Telugu language, drama film directed by Singeetam Srinivasa Rao, written by J. Ramachandra Murthy and produced by D. Madhusudhana Rao. The film was primarily shot in the United States, most notably in the Mi ...

*1982

Pelleedu Pillalu ''Pelleedu Pillalu'' ( te, పెళ్ళీడు పిల్లలు) is a Telugu-language drama film released in 1982 and directed by Bapu. Suresh and Vijayashanti play the leads in this film, with Sangeetha, Sarath Babu, Sumalatha and ...

*1978 Radha Krishna *1977 Prema Lekhalu *1974 Bangaaru Kalalu *1972 Vichitra Bandham *1971 Amayakuralu *1970 Jai Jawan *1969 Aatmiyulu *1967 Poola Rangadu *1965 Aatma Gowravam *1964 Doctor Chakravarty *1963

*1961 Iddaru Mitrulu *1961 Velugu Needalu *1959 Mangalya Balam *1957 Todi Kodallu *1955

Television production

Annapurna International School of Film and Media

Annapurna International School of Film and Media Annapurna College of Film and Media is a Film School based in Hyderabad, India. It's India's first private, non-profit media school. The institute was founded by the Akkineni family, including Nagarjuna and Akkineni Nageswara Rao. ACFM offers co ...

is the only privately managed, non-profit film and media school in India. It is also the only film school in India with government-accredited bachelor's, master's and MBA courses in film related subjects. The school was launched in August 2011 by Actor & Chairman of Annapurna Studios,

and the Akkineni family with the intention of giving back to the community through their knowledge and experience in the field. Many members from across the Indian film industry extended their support towards this non-profit film education. The advisory board includes

Shabana Azmi Shabana Azmi (born 18 September 1950) is an Indian actress of Hindi film, television and theatre. One of India's most acclaimed actresses, Azmi is known for her portrayals of distinctive, often unconventional female characters across several ge ...

Mahesh Bhatt Mahesh Bhatt (born 20 September 1948) is an Indian film director, producer and screenwriter known for his works in Hindi cinema. A stand-out film from his earlier period is '' Saaransh'' (1984), screened at the 14th Moscow International Film ...

Farah Khan Farah Khan Kunder (born 9 January 1965) is an Indian film director, film producer, actress, dancer and choreographer who works predominantly in Hindi films. Khan has choreographed dance routines for more than a hundred songs in over 80 films, w ...

Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra (born 7 July 1963) is an Indian film director, occasional actor and screenwriter. He is best known for writing and directing '' Rang De Basanti'' (2006) and '' Bhaag Milkha Bhaag'' (2013). He is the writer and director o ...

Javed Akhtar Javed Akhtar (born 17 January 1945) is an Indian poet, lyricist, screenwriter and political activist. Known for his work in Hindi cinema, he has won five National Film Awards, and received the Padma Shri in 1999 and the Padma Bhushan in 2 ...

Kamal Haasan Kamal Haasan (born 7 November 1954) is an Indian actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, playback singer, television presenter and politician who works mainly in Tamil cinema and has also appeared in some Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Kannada and Bengali f ...

, Tabu,

Anurag Kashyap Anurag Kashyap (born 10 September 1972) is an Indian filmmaker and actor known for his works in Hindi cinema. He is the recipient of several accolades, including four Filmfare Awards. For his contributions to film, the Government of France aw ...

Mani Ratnam Gopala Ratnam Subramaniam (born 2 June 1956), known professionally as Mani Ratnam, is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema and few Hindi, Telugu and Kannada films. Ratnam has won six Nat ...

Gautham Vasudev Menon Gautham Vasudev Menon (born 25 February 1973) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer and actor who predominantly works in Tamil film industry. He has also directed Telugu and Hindi films that either simultaneously shot with or rema ...

, S. S. Rajamouli,

Deva Katta Deva Katta is an Indian American film director and screenwriter who works in Telugu cinema. He directed cult classic Telugu movies such as '' Vennela'' (2005), '' Prasthanam'' (2010), '' Autonagar Surya'' (2014) and '' Republic (film)'' (2021) ...

and Krish.

References

{{Nagarjuna (actor) Film production companies based in Hyderabad, India Film production companies of India Indian companies established in 1975 Indian film studios 1975 establishments in Andhra Pradesh