The Telugu film industry has been struck by yet another tragedy even before people could get over the demise of film editor Gautham Raju merely two days ago. Veteran film producer Gorantla Rajendra Prasad died in the early hours of Thursday, sending shockwaves across the industry. The 86-year-old breathed his last after battling a prolonged illness, according to his family.
Working with some of the top league actors in the industry like Allu Arjun and Rana Daggubatti, he has been one of the top filmmakers of Tollywood. With his first production effort, Ramudu Bheemudu, he made his entry into the film business, in 1963. The superhit movie was produced by him and D Ramanaidu.
He established Madhavi Pictures and was responsible for a number of big-budget successes. Some of his most well-known Telugu movies include Player, Kurukshetra, Dorababu, and Suputrudu, all starring ANR and Manjula.
This is the second tragedy for the film industry in just a week with well-known film editor Gautam Raju passing away on Wednesday. He had health issues, and when his health declined, he passed away at his home in Hyderabad. He has edited about 800 Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Hindi-language movies. He served as an editor for numerous notable stars including Chiranjeevi, who supported Gautam Raju’s family with an Rs. 2 lakh donation soon after his death.
He also gave his word that he would continue to look out for his family. Recently, there have been a series of misfortunes with many eminent personalities or their kin passing away. Vidyasagar, the husband of popular heroine Meena, passed away from post-covid complications. The demise of R Narayana Murthy’s mother and senior journalist Gudipudi Srihari also made news recently.
