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, in the northern part of Southern India ...

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 so ...

Foundation

The studio was inaugurated by the then President of India

Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (13 May 1905 – 11 February 1977) was an Indian lawyer and politician who served as the fifth president of India from 1974 to 1977. Born in Delhi, Ahmed studied in Delhi and Cambridge and was called to the bar from the ...

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 fi ...

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

Dammu ''Dammu'' () is a 2012 Indian Telugu-language action film written and directed by Boyapati Srinu. Starring Jr. NTR, Trisha and Karthika Nair, the film follows an orphan who agrees to pose as the heir to a rich and powerful family, eventually ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

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 T ...

'' and ''

Iddarammayilatho ''Iddarammayilatho'' () is a 2013 Indian Telugu-language romantic action film written and directed by Puri Jagannadh. It stars Allu Arjun, Amala Paul, and Catherine Tresa while Brahmanandam, Ali, Shawar Ali, Nassar, Pragathi, Tanikella Bhar ...

''. 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 perform ...

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, and v ...

. 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'' (1955). The film was co-written and directed by K. V. Reddy. It starred Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Savitri, and Jamuna, with music composed by Pendyala. The film was archived in the curriculum of the Film and Television Institute of India. It was dubbed in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

as ''Thiruttu Raman'' (1956). It was later remade in Hindi as ''

Man-Mauji ''Man Mauji'' () is a 1962 Indian Hindi-language film starring Kishore Kumar and Sadhana in lead roles and directed by Krishnan–Panju. It was Jayalalitha's first Hindi film, in which she played Lord Krishna in a 3-minutes dance sequence with ...

'' (1962) and again in Tamil as '' Vasanthi'' (1988). Later Annapurna Pictures produced films like ''

Thodi Kodallu ''Thodi Kodallu'' () is a 1957 Indian Telugu-language drama film directed and edited by Adurthi Subba Rao who co-wrote the script with D. Madhusudhana Rao and Acharya Aatreya. Madhusudhana Rao produced the film under Annapurna Pictures. It star ...

'' (1957), ''Iddaru Mitrulu'' (1961), '' Chaduvukunna Ammayilu'' (1963), ''

Doctor Chakravarty ''Doctor Chakravarthy'' is 1964 Telugu-language drama film, produced by D. Madhusudhana Rao under the Annapurna Pictures banner and directed by Adurthi Subba Rao. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Savitri and Jaggayya, with music composed by ...

'' (1964), '' Aatma Gowravam'' (1965), ''

Aatmiyulu Aatmiyulu () is a 1969 Indian Telugu-language drama film, produced by D. Madhusudhana Rao under the Saradhi Studios banner and directed by V. Madhusudhana Rao. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Vanisree Vanisri (born Rathna Kumari) i ...

'' (1969).

Film production

AA Combines

AS Combines

Great India Entertainments

Annapurna Pictures

*1987 America Abbayi *1982 Pelleedu Pillalu *1978 Radha Krishna *1977 Prema Lekhalu *1974

Bangaaru Kalalu ''Bangaaru Kalalu'' () is a 1974 Telugu-language drama film, produced by D. Madhusudhana Rao under Annapurna Pictures banner and directed by Adurthi Subba Rao. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Waheeda Rehman and Lakshmi, with music composed b ...

*1972

Vichitra Bandham ''Vichitra Bandham'' () is a 1972 Telugu-language drama film, produced by D. Madhusudhana Rao under the Annapurna Pictures banner and directed by Adurthi Subba Rao. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Vanisri, with music composed by K. V. Ma ...

*1971 Amayakuralu *1970

Jai Jawan ''Jai Jawan'' () is a 1970 Telugu-language drama film produced by D. Madhusudhana Rao under the Annapurna Pictures banner and directed by D. Yoganand. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Bharathi and Krishnam Raju, with music composed by S. Raj ...

*1969

*1967 Poola Rangadu *1965 Aatma Gowravam *1964

*1963 Chaduvukunna Ammayilu *1961 Iddaru Mitrulu *1961

Velugu Needalu ''Velugu Needalu'' () is a 1961 Telugu-language film produced by D. Madhusudhana Rao under the Annapurna Pictures banner and directed by Adurthi Subba Rao. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Savitri, with music composed by Pendyala Nageswar ...

*1959

Mangalya Balam ''Mangalya Balam'' () is a 1959 Indian Telugu-language romantic drama film, produced by D. Madhusudhana Rao under Annapurna Pictures banner and directed by Adurthi Subba Rao. It stars Savitri and Akkineni Nageswara Rao, with music composed by ...

*1957

Todi Kodallu ''Thodi Kodallu'' () is a 1957 Indian Telugu-language drama film directed and edited by Adurthi Subba Rao who co-wrote the script with D. Madhusudhana Rao and Acharya Aatreya. Madhusudhana Rao produced the film under Annapurna Pictures. It s ...

*1955 Donga Ramudu

Television production

Annapurna International School of Film and Media

Annapurna International School of Film and Media 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,

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 of ...

, Javed Akhtar, Kamal Haasan,

Tabu Tabu may refer to: Cultural and legal concepts *Taboo (spelled ''tabu'' in earlier historical records), something that is unacceptable in society *Tapu (Polynesian culture) (also spelled ''tabu''), a Polynesian cultural concept from which the wor ...

, Anurag Kashyap,

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 ...

Gautham Vasudev Menon Gautham Vasudev Menon (born 25 February 1973) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer and actor who predominantly works in Tamil cinema, Tamil film industry. He has also directed Telugu cinema, Telugu and Hindi cinema, Hindi films th ...

S. S. Rajamouli Koduri Srisaila Sri Rajamouli ( ; born 10 October 1973) is an Indian film director and screenwriter who primarily works in Telugu cinema. He is the highest paid director in India, and is known for his action, fantasy, and epic genre films. T ...

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). In ...

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