Chitrapu Narayana Rao (born Chithrapu Narayana Murthy; 1913) was an

Indian film The Cinema of India consists of motion pictures produced in India, which had a large effect on world cinema since the late 20th century. Major centers of film production across the country include Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Ko ...

director and producer known for his works in

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

and

Tamil cinema Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood is a part of Indian Cinema; primarily engaged in production of motion pictures in the Tamil language. Based out of the Kodambakkam neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, it is popularly called ''Kollywood' ...

. He received a Certificate of Merit for the Third Best Tamil Film for ''

Edhir Paradhathu ''Edhir Paradhathu'' () is a 1954 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film directed by Ch. Narayana Moorthy and written by C. V. Sridhar. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan and Padmini, with V. Nagayya, S. V. Sahasranamam, S. Varalakshmi and Frie ...

'' (1958) and ''

Annaiyin Aanai ''Annaiyin Aanai'' () is a 1958 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by Ch. Narayana Murthy, starring Sivaji Ganesan and Savitri. The film was released on 4 July 1958, and won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil. Plot ...

'' (1962). He also won the

Nandi Award The Nandi Awards are the awards that recognise the excellence in Telugu cinema, Telugu theatre and Telugu television, and Lifetime achievements in Indian cinema. Presented annually by the Government of Andhra Pradesh, the award is named after ...

for the 1967 Telugu film '' Bhakta Prahlada''.

Personal life

He was born at

Machilipatnam Machilipatnam (), also known as Masulipatnam and Bandar, is a city in Krishna district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipal corporation and the administrative headquarters of Krishna district. It is also the Tehsil, mandal he ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

in 1913. Film director, Chitrapu Narasimha Rao, was his brother. He lost his son in 1962. He died in the year 1985.

Career

He started his film career assisting his younger brother Chitrapu Narasimha Rao in films like ''Seetha Kalyanam'', ''Sati Tulasi'', ''Mohini Rukhmangadha'' and ''Krishna Jarasandha''. His directorial debut was ''Bhakta Markandeya'' starring

Vemuri Gaggayya Vemuri Gaggayya (1895–1955) was an Indian actor, singer, and thespian known for his works in Telugu cinema, and Telugu theatre. In 1933, East India Film Company produced its first Indian film, '' Savitri'' in Telugu. Shot in Calcutta on a bud ...

and

Sriranjani Sriranjani is a ragam in Carnatic music (musical scale of South Indian classical music). It is a hexatonic scale (''shadava'' rāgam, which means "of six"). It is a derived scale (''janya'' rāgam), as it does not have all the seven ''swaras' ...

.CineGoer.com - Nostalgia - Bhakta Prahlada
The film had done well establishing him as a director. He subsequently directed many movies like ''Myravana'', ''Bhakta Prahlada'', ''Daksha Yagnam'', ''Bheeshma'' in both Telugu and Tamil languages. He has produced the film ''Krishna Kuchela'' in 1961. It was a failure and he went into financial problems. During the same period, He wanted to direct a movie for

AVM Productions AVM Productions is an Indian film production studio founded by A. V. Meiyappan. It is the final oldest survived studio in India. The filming studios are located in Vadapalani, Chennai. It has produced over 300 films in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, ...

to regain his financial status. They started working on '' Bhakta Prahlada'' in 1965, for the first time in Eastman color. It was technically far superior to the Black and White version he made 25 years earlier.

D. V. Narasa Raju D.V. Narasaraju or Datla Venkata Narasaraju (Telugu: డి.వి.నరసరాజు) (15 July 1920 – 28 August 2006) was a writer and director of South India films and playwright. He wrote stories such as Gundamma Katha, Yamagola, and D ...

was the co-writer for the project. The film was a box office success.

Awards

;

Nandi Awards The Nandi Awards are the awards that recognise the excellence in Telugu cinema, Telugu theatre and Telugu television, and Lifetime achievements in Indian cinema. Presented annually by the Government of Andhra Pradesh, the award is named after ...

* Nandi Award for Second Best Feature Film (director) - '' Bhakta Prahlada''

Filmography

# ''Bhakta Markandeya (1938)'' # ''

Mahiravana In some versions of the Ramayana such as the Krittivasi Ramayan, Krittivasi Ramayana, Ahiravan, also called Mahiravana, is a rakshasa (demon) ruler of Patala. He is variously described as either an ally or a brother of the rakshasa king Ravana ...

(1940)'' # ''

Dakshayagnam Dakṣayajña is an important event in Hindu mythology that is narrated in various Hindu texts, Hindu scriptures. It refers to a yajna (ritual-sacrifice) organised by Daksha, where his daughter, Sati (goddess), Sati, immolates herself. The wrath ...

(1941)'' # '' Bhakta Prahlada (1942)'' # ''Bhakta Kabir (1944)'' # ''

Bhishma Bhishma (Sanskrit: भीष्‍म, , ), also known as Pitamaha, Gangaputra, and Devavrata, played an integral role in Mahabharata. He was the supreme commander of the Kaurava forces during the Kurukshetra War mentioned in the Hindu epic M ...

(1944)'' # ''Samsara Naradi (1944)'' # ''

Brahma Ratham Brahma Ratham ( te, బ్రహ్మ రథం) is a 1947 Telugu drama film directed by Chitrapu Narayana Rao. It is based on the novel of the same name written by Balijepalli Lakshmikantam. Cast * Kalyanam Raghuramaiah, K. Raghuramaiah * Ad ...

(1947)'' # ''Madalasa (1948)'' # ''

(1949)'' # '' En Thangai (1952)'' # ''Naa Chellelu (1953)'' # ''

(Tamil, 1954)'' # ''Adarshasati (1956)'' # ''Naga Panchami (1956/II)'' # ''Nagula Chaviti (1956)'' # ''

Pathini Deivam ''Pathini Deivam'' is a 1957 Indian Tamil-language film directed by Ch. Narayanamurthi. The film stars Gemini Ganesan and Savithri. Plot Kulasekaran, King of Kurinjinadu, visits his friend Mahendran who is the King of Marudanadu. Mahendran, ...

(Tamil, 1957)'' # ''

(Tamil, 1958)'' # ''Manamalai (Tamil, 1958)'' # ''Naan Valartha Thangai (Tamil, 1958)'' # ''Deivame Thunai (Tamil, 1959)'' # ''

Bhaktha Sabari ''Bhaktha Sabari'' is a 1960 Indian Telugu-language film directed by Ch. Narayanamoorthi based on a screenplay by K. M. Govindarajan. The film was produced by P. R. Naidu under the banner of Sugibava Productions. The film stars Ashokan, Panda ...

(Telugu, 1960)'' # ''Bhakta Shabari (Tamil, 1960)'' # ''Bhakta Shabari (Kannada, 1960)'' # ''Krishna Kuchela (1961) (director and producer)'' # ''Tallichina Ajna (1961)'' # ''

Chittor Rani Padmini ''Chitor Rani Padmini'' () is a 1963 Indian Tamil-language historical drama film written by C. V. Sridhar and Elangovan, and directed by Ch. Narayana Murthy. It is based on the legend of Rani Padmini. The film starred Sivaji Ganesan as Rana Rat ...

(Tamil, 1963)'' # ''Pativrata (1964)'' # '' Bhakta Prahlada (Telugu, 1967)''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rao, Chitrapu Narayana 1913 births 1985 deaths Telugu film producers Telugu film directors Film producers from Andhra Pradesh Nandi Award winners People from Krishna district Film directors from Anhui 20th-century Indian film directors