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Raghupathi Venkaiah Naidu

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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 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]

Biography

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Early life

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Venkaiah Naidu was born in a Kapu family[8][9] as the second son of an Indian Army official Subedar Appayya Naidu in Machilipatnam, British India.[1] His older brother Raghupathi Venkataratnam Naidu was a noted educationalist and social reformer.[10][5] His ancestors worked as Commanders in the Army of the East India Company and Madras Army in Hyderabad Regiments. At the age of 18, he moved to Madras and started drawing pictures and carving sculptures at Mount Road and selling them. He then learned photography and founded a photographic studio.[10]

Photographer

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In 1909, he introduced Chrono Mega phone, equipment that relates sounds with pictures, from John Dickinson and Company. To pay for the Chrono Mega phone he bought for ₹30,000, he rented out his photo studio. He shot 12 short films and exhibited them in Victoria Public Hall. He also travelled to Bangalore, Vijayawada, Sri Lanka, Rangoon and Pegu to exhibit his films.[11]

Theatre owner

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In 1910, he established Esplanade Ten House to exhibit his films. In 1912, he constructed Gaiety Talkies on Mount Road, the first Indian-owned cinema theatre in Chennai. He later constructed Crown Theatre on Mint Street and Globe Theatre in Purasawakkam, Madras. He also exhibited American and British films. Some of the first movies shown in his theatres were Million Dollar Mystery, Mysteries of Meera, Clutching Hand, Broken Coin, Raja's casket, Peral fish, and 'Great Bard'. He established a film library and provided training on cinematic techniques.[10]

Film producer

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In 1919, he started a production company called Star of East Films and a film studio called Glass Studio. He sent his son, Raghupathi Surya Prakash Naidu, to study cinematography in London. Father and son made their first movie "Meenakshi Kalyanam" around actual locations of the Madurai Meenakshi temple. Later, they produced films like Gajendra Moksham, Mathsyavatharam, Nandanaar, and Bhishma Pratigna, the first Telugu mookie (i.e., movie with no playback voices).[12] He faced high competition with East India Film Company, and went bankrupt. Later, his son and Yaragudipati Varada Rao established a long-lasting precedent of focusing exclusively on religious themes; Nandanar, Gajendra Moksham, and Matsyavatar, three of their most noted productions, centered on religious figures, parables, and morals.[13] Venkaiah died on 15 March 1941 due to medical illness.[1]

Personal life

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Devika, a popular actress in Telugu and Tamil films in the 1960s, was the grand-daughter of Venkaiah Naidu. Devika's daughter, Kanaka is also an actress.[14]

Filmography

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  • Meenakshi Kalyanam
  • Gajendra Moksham
  • Mathsyavatharam
  • Nandanaar
  • Bhishma Pratigya (1921)
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A biographical film on Naidu titled Raghupathi Venkaiah Naidu was released in November 2019. Naresh played the title role of Venkaiah Naidu.[15]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "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. ^ a b 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.
  8. ^ M. L. Kantha Rao (July 1999), A Study of the Socio-Political Mobility of the Kapu Caste in Modern Andhra. University of Hyderabad. Chapter 6. p. 275–278. hdl:10603/25437
  9. ^ Srinivas, S.V.. (2010). Making of a Peasant Industry: Telugu Cinema in the 1930s–1950s. Bioscope: South Asian Screen Studies. p. 173. 10.1177/097492761000100207.
  10. ^ a b c Chaitanya, Krishna (6 August 2012). "Raghupati Venkaiah Naidu: The man who started it all". Bharat Janani. Archived from the original on 17 August 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  11. ^ Kumar, Srikanth (26 June 2010). "Why AP Government named an award after Raghupathi Venkaiah Naidu". South Scope. Archived from the original on 29 October 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  12. ^ "Raghupathi Venkaiah Naidu Movie Review {2.5}: Not well made" – via timesofindia.indiatimes.com.
  13. ^ "History of Birth and Growth of Telugu Cinema (Part 3)". CineGoer.com. Archived from the original on 11 April 2007.
  14. ^ "Going in search of a yesteryear star actress and what I learnt". The New Indian Express. 24 April 2023. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  15. ^ "Raghupathi Venkaiah Naidu Movie Review". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
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