Kanaala Nanjunda Tirumala Sastry (5 September 1945 – 13 September 2018) was an Indian

film critic Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films and the film medium. In general, film criticism can be divided into two categories: journalistic criticism that appears regularly in newspapers, magazines and other popular mass-media outlets ...

, screenwriter, director, littérateur, and producer, known for his works predominantly in

Telugu cinema Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Telugu language, widely spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Telugu cinema is based in Film Nagar, Hy ...

. He has garnered six

National Film Awards The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorat ...

, three

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 ...

and three International honors. He served as chairman of critics Jury at

. Sastry was a Jury Member of

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( rus, Владивосто́к, a=Владивосток.ogg, p=vɫədʲɪvɐˈstok) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia. The city is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea ...

International Film Festival 2003; Five time Jury Member for ''Indian Panorama''-''

International Film Festival of India The International Film Festival of India (IFFI), founded in 1952, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. Held annually, currently in the state of Goa, on the western coast of the country, the festival aims at providing a common pla ...

''; Jury Member the

Government of Andhra Pradesh Government of Andhra Pradesh, abbreviated as, GOAP, or, Andhra Government, is the Subnational administrative division, subnational government for the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is an elected government with 175 Member of the Legislative ...

, and Fipresci Jury Member at Kinotavr film festival and

Busan International Film Festival The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF, previously Pusan International Film Festival, PIFF), held annually in Haeundae-gu, Busan (''also'' Pusan), South Korea, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. The first festi ...

. Sastry's

Thilaadanam ''Thiladaanam'' (The Rite... A Passion) is a 2000 Indian Telugu-language drama film, written, and directed by film-critic K. N. T. Sastry in his debut directorial, based on the story by Rentala Nageswara Rao. The film features H. G. Dattatreya, ...

received "New Currents Award" at the 7th Busan International Film Festival. He worked on many research projects with veteran director

B. Narsing Rao Bongu Narsing Rao (born 1946) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, littérateur, composer, poet, producer, actor and painter known for his works in Telugu cinema, and Telugu theatre. Rao has garnered five National Film Awards, three Nandi ...

. Sastry's English Documentary ''Harvesting Baby Girls'' won the Special Jury Award at

International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) is the world's largest documentary film festival held annually since 1988 in Amsterdam. Over a period of twelve days, it has screened more than 300 films and sold more than 250,000 tic ...

Noted publications

*'' Chittoor V. Nagaiah: A Monologue'' *''Nalo Nenu'' a Monologue of

Bhanumathi Ramakrishna P. Bhanumathi Ramakrishna (7 September 1925 – 24 December 2005) was an Indian actress, singer, film producer, director, music composer, and novelist. She is regarded as the first female super star of Telugu cinema. She is also considered the ...

*''Alanti Chalanchitram'' First 25 Years of Telugu cinema

Filmography

Awards

;National Film Awards * Best Film Critic - 1989 * Best Book on Cinema (Publisher) - 1993 * Special Jury Award / Special Mention - Book on Cinema - 1995 *Best Ethnographic Film - 1999 * Best Debut Film of a Director - 2002 * Best Feature Film in Telugu - 2007 ;International Honours *Special Jury Award, Harvesting Baby Girls, at

*New Currents Award at the 7th

in South Korea *Fipresci Jury Member at

Kinotavr Kinotavr (russian: Кинотавр), also known as the Sochi Open Russian Film Festival is an open film festival held in the resort city of Sochi, Russia annually in June since 1991, until it was cancelled in the wake of the 2022 Russian invasio ...

film festival and

;

(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 ...

) * Best First Film of a Director - ''

'' (2001) * First Best Documentary Film - ''Surabhi'' (1999) * Best Book on Telugu Cinema - ''Alanati Chalana Chitram'' (1995)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sastry, K. N. T. 1945 births 2018 deaths Indian film critics 20th-century Indian film directors Telugu film directors Indian documentary filmmakers Indian documentary film directors Indian experimental filmmakers Indian male screenwriters Film directors from Andhra Pradesh Screenwriters from Andhra Pradesh Telugu screenwriters Nandi Award winners Director whose film won the Best Debut Feature Film National Film Award Best Critic National Film Award winners