Nageswara Rao's death 'big loss' to Indian cinema: Shivraj Kumar

Hyderabad, Jan 22 (IANS) Kannada superstar Shivraj Kumar, son of late actor Rajkumar, says that the death of legendary actor Akkineni Nageswara Rao is not only a loss to Telugu filmdom but to Indian cinema as a whole.

Nageswara Rao died here early Wednesday after battling intestinal cancer. He was 89.

"His (Nageswara Rao) death is not only a loss for Telugu industry, but it is a big loss to Indian cinema. My father and he used to be great friends. Whenever he would come to Bangalore, he would take out time to meet my father. My father did the same when he went to Hyderabad," Shivraj Kumar told IANS.

Born on Sep 20, 1924, Rao's 70-year career boasts a filmography of over 250 films. He had worked predominantly in Telugu as well as a few Tamil films.

He made his cinematic debut in the 1941 Telugu film "Dharmapatni" in a brief role. In 1944, he essayed the lead role in Telugu drama "Sitarama Jananam".

Some of his best films include "Batasari", "Devadasu" and "Prem Nagar". He was currently shooting for Telugu family drama "Manam" with son Akkineni Nagarjuna and grandson Akkineni Naga Chaitanya.

In 2011, he received the Padma Vibhushan award. He is survived by his two sons and three daughters.