Raghupathi Venkaiah Naidu

Raghupathi Venkaiah Naidu
Born(1869-10-15)15 October 1869
Machilipatnam, Madras Presidency, British India
(now in Andhra Pradesh, India)
Died15 March 1941(1941-03-15) (aged 71)
Occupations
ChildrenRaghupathi Surya Prakash
RelativesRaghupathi Venkataratnam Naidu (brother)

Raghupathi Venkaiah Naidu (15 October 1869 – 15 March 1941), was an Indian filmmaker and entrepreneur, widely regarded as the father of Telugu cinema.[1][2] A pioneer of Indian cinema, Naidu established the first Indian-owned movie theatres in South India and founded Star of the East Films, the first film production company established by a Telugu person.[3] He is credited with producing Bhishma Pratigna (1921), considered the first Telugu feature film, thus laying the foundation for the Telugu film industry.[4]

Born into a Kapu family in Machilipatnam, Andhra Pradesh, Naidu was the second son of an Indian Army official and the younger brother of the noted social reformer Raghupathi Venkataratnam Naidu.[5] He moved to Madras (now Chennai) at the age of 18, where he began his career as a commercial photographer. Venturing into filmmaking, he established "The Glass Studio," a cinematograph company named for its glass roof, which allowed sunlight to penetrate in the days before electric lighting. Naidu's entrepreneurial spirit led him to set up the first permanent cinema theatres in Madras, including The Gaiety in 1912, followed by Crown Theatre and Globe Theatre, where he screened American, European, and Indian silent films.[6]

Despite facing intense competition from European firms, Naidu persisted, producing and exhibiting short films across South India and Burma. His efforts in promoting cinematic techniques and distributing foreign silent films were instrumental in the growth of the South Indian film industry. He and his London-educated son, Raghupathi Surya Prakash Naidu, produced several films over the years, including Bhishma Pratigna, Gajendra Moksham, Mathsyavatharam and Nandanaar. The Raghupathi Venkaiah Award, part of the Nandi Awards, is named in his honour, recognizing lifetime achievements in Telugu cinema.[7]

  1. ^ "Telugu film industry turns 80". Business Line. 11 September 2011. Retrieved 20 November 2019. Though the talkie was made in 1931, efforts began quite early to produce films without sound. Mr Raghupati Venkaiah, regarded as the father of Telugu film industry, laid the foundation stone for the industry in the South by setting up Glass Studio and bringing one of the first cameras into the country. This studio helped produce silent films as early as 1919. He went on to make six more movies.
  2. ^ "Naresh plays Raghupathi Venkaiah Naidu". The Hans India. 7 November 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  3. ^ "History of Birth and Growth of Telugu Cinema (Part 3)". CineGoer.com. Archived from the original on 11 April 2007.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference BP was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ History and Culture of the Andhras. Komarraju Venkata Lakshmana Rau Vijnana Sarvaswa Sakha, Telugu University. 1995. p. 389. ISBN 978-81-86073-07-0.
  6. ^ Reddem, Appaji (4 March 2022). "Is Telugu cinema set for a change of scene Hyderabad to Visakhapatnam?". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  7. ^ Visweswara Rao, Namala. "Telugu Cinema Celebrity – Raghupati Venkaiah Naidu". Idlebrain.com.