Akkineni Award To SS Rajamouli; Telangana CM Lauds Director’s Work

Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Sunday said that the state government would strive for the development of the Tollywood industry. He was speaking at a felicitation programme where ace director SS Rajamouli was awarded with Akkineni Nageswara Rao National Award 2017 in recognition of his contribution to the Telugu film industry.

"I watched Bahubali series initially in Hindi, later I watched it in Telugu. Everyone should watch the masterpiece of Rajamouli. He has set a trend. He put the Telugu pride on the top of the world with Bahubali," KCR praised.

The Telangana Chief Minister recalled the initial days of Tollywood when late actor Akkineni Nageswara Rao moved to Hyderabad from Chennai and set up Annapurna studios at Punjagutta. "Akkineni was one of committed personalities I had seen in the industry. He was a very disciplined man. I can recall those days when I saw Akkineni was riding his car all by himself to reach Annapurna studios," recalled KCR.

The Telangana CM said that Akkineni was the one who first laid the foundation for the Tollywood industry here in the city and rest is all history.

Upon receiving the award from Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, director Rajamouli said that the honour has made him more responsible. He said would continue his work and bring more laurels to Tollywood. Actor Nagarjuna and several other Tollywood biggies were present at the award ceremony.