Legendary filmmaker Singeetham Srinivasa Rao, known for the unusual films he made with Kamal Haasan, passed away in Madras at Kauvery Hospital on 3rd October. He was 95. He was also a producer, actor and music composer. In all, he made around 60 films in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi and English.
Rao made films in different genres and often challenged the conventional ideas of the screen hero. In Kamal Haasan’s 100th film, Raja Paarvai, Singeetham Srinivasa Rao made Kamal play a blind violinist. The Hindi Pushpak (Pesum Padam in Tamil) was a silent film made by Rao. And in Appu Raja (Apoorva Sagodharargal in Tamil), Kamal Haasan played a midget.
Singeetham Srinivasa Rao won the National Film Award twice. His first National Award came for Tamil film Dikkatra Parvathi (1974). His second National Award was for Pushpaka Vimana (Kannada) which was released as Pesum Padam in Tamil and Pushpak in Hindi. He had made the biographical dance film, Mayuri, in Telugu in 1985, which was remade in Hindi as Nache Mayuri (1986).
