Renowned film director Vidya Sagar Reddy departs for heavenly abode at 70.

Veteran Telugu filmmaker Vidya Sagar Reddy, popularly called Sagar, died at his Chennai residence on Thursday morning. The Amma Donga fame director breathed his last after battling illness for a long time. The filmmaker has mentored several directors like Srinu Vaitla, V.V. Vinayak, Ravi Kumar Chowdary, and G. Nageswara Reddy. In addition to being one of the most renowned filmmakers and mentoring many artists, Sagar has also served as the president of the Telugu Directors Association for three terms.

Sagar was born in Guntur in 1952 and proved his capabilities as a film editor and assistant director for many known Telugu films. He embarked on his filmmaking career in 1983 with the crime genre film Raakasim Loya in the year 1983 starring Naresh and Vijaya Shanti in the lead roles. His work as a director was applauded and he wielded the megaphone for super hit films like Amma Donga, Khaidi Brothers, Stuwartpuram Dongalu, Rama Sakkanodu, Action no.1, Anveshana, Oosi Naa Maradala and Daaku.

In this stellar body of work, one film, which is revered to date is the 1991 Stuwartpuram Dongalu. This film narrated the story of a young boy, who goes on a robbery mission with his father. The film takes a riveting turn when his father is betrayed by his partners. The boy grows up in the wrong company and sets out to exact revenge on the people who betrayed him and his father. The power-packed storyline and iconic performances by the cast were some of the integral elements which led to the success of this film.

Due to these successful works, Sagar cemented his position as one of the most critically acclaimed directors in the Telugu film industry. Viewers are left devastated after Sagar’s death considering the significant impact his brilliant direction had on the Telugu film industry. As stated in the reports, his last rites will be performed in Chennai today evening.