Telugu films are all the rage with RRR gaining global recognition and Bollywood is constantly seeking inspiration from the region — Jersey, Good Luck Jerry, Kabir Singh are all remakes of Telugu films. But it would be remiss to call this the industry’s first time under a pan-india limelight. Five decades ago, almost every Telugu film was remade into a Hindi blockbuster and there was one man behind it — Telugu director Tatineni Rama Rao.
Popularly known as T Rama Rao, the director and producer was not just a fascinating filmmaker but also a great businessman, who started the ‘Madras movie’ trend — Hindi films funded by south Indian production houses.
Throughout his storied career from 1966 to 2000, he directed more than 75 films in both Telugu and Hindi, working with legends like Rajinikanth, Jeetendra, Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha among others.
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Finding success
Born in 1938 in Kapileswarapuram, Andhra Pradesh, Rama Rao began his film career working as an assistant director to his cousin T. Prakash Rao and Kotayya Pratyagatma in the 1950s and 60s. He eventually made his first film Navaratri in 1966, with Akkineni Nageswara Rao playing nine roles. It was a remake of the eponymous Tamil film and became an instant success and established him as a director.
Some of his other popular Telugu directorial ventures include Aalu Magalu (1977), Yamagola (1977), and Jeevana Tarangalu (1973).
Rama Rao’s move into Bollywood was a natural progression for him — he wanted to make it big. His cousin was already making Hindi films, which allowed him to follow a set path. It was his association with Jeetendra that firmly established his success in Mumbai. The filmmaker made his Bollywood debut in 1979, with Lok Parlok, a remake of the Telugu hit Yamagola.
“In the 1970s and 1980s I was shooting nonstop in Hyderabad for Hindi remakes of Telugu hits, many of them directed by T Rama Rao. We were so fine-tuned to one another’s craft that we knew exactly what we wanted from one another,” said Jeetendra on T Rama Rao’s impact on his career.
But Lok Parlok didn’t see the same success as its Telugu counterpart. Rama Rao took it in stride, attributing it to cultural differences between the North and South. “People in North India cannot take Lord Yama in a comic way,” he said.
His next three films — Maang Bharo Sajnaa, Judai, Ek Hi Bhool — with Jeetendra and Rekha in the lead were all hits.
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An indoor picnic
Rama Rao’s style combined the fun of family-oriented films and the mass elements of commercial cinema. Film critic Subhash K Jha has described his movies as an “indoor family picnic” and mass entertainers. “Rao was of the opinion that if the public wants to see art they would visit an art gallery,” wrote Jha.
Andhaa Kaanoon (1983) was his biggest hit, the film was also Rajinikanth’s Bollywood debut. The film also featured Amitabh Bachchan and Hema Malini. His other big Hindi hits include Khatron Ke Khiladi (1988), starring Dharmendra, Sanjay Dutt, Madhuri Dixit and Chunky Pandey; and Watan Ke Rakhwale (1987) with Mithun Chakraborty, Dharmendra and Sridevi.
Rama Rao made his last Telugu film, Golmaal Govindam, in 1992. He continued to make Hindi films, but completely withdrew from directing in 2000. His last film was Govinda-starrer Beti No 1.
When asked why he stopped he replied in his usual self-aware manner, “The answer is simple. I didn’t have success and you know the industry, once we do not have success, people brand us to be old people with old ideas and none approach us”
The veteran filmmaker passed away on 20 April last year, in Chennai, at the age of 84. He is survived by his wife Jayashree and three children.
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)