Dasari Narayana Rao

Dasari Narayana Rao was a versatile and prolific filmmaker who worked predominantly in Telugu cinema, as well as in Hindi cinema. He directed more than 150 feature films in a variety of genres, such as drama, comedy, romance, action, thriller, and social issues. He also produced, wrote, acted, and composed lyrics for many of his films. He holds the Limca World Record for directing the most number of films in the world. He is known by the moniker Darsaka Ratna, meaning Jewel among directors. His works emphasize social injustice, corruption, and gender discrimination. He won two National Film Awards, nine state Nandi Awards, and four Filmfare Awards South for his films. Some of his notable films include Meghasandesam, Kante Koothurne Kanu, Osey Ramulamma, Swarag Narak, Jyoti Bane Jwala, and Aaj Ka M.L.A. Ram Avtar. He also launched a popular daily newspaper named Udayam to counter the influence of Eenadu. He was also active in politics and served as a Rajya Sabha member and a Minister of State in the Ministry of Coal. He was involved in the coal scam and was booked by the CBI for receiving bribes from Naveen Jindal. He died on 30 May 2017 from prolonged illness at the age of 75. He was given a state funeral and a three-day state mourning was declared in his honor. He is survived by his wife and three children.