Born on 6 June 1936, Daggubati Ramanaidu was an Indian film producer and the founder of Suresh Productions. Ramanaidu completed his graduation from Presidency College in Chennai. He was married to Daggubati Rajeswari and the couple was blessed with three children. Ramanaidu has also earned himself a place in the Guinness Book of World Records in the year 2008 for producing most films by an individual; he has produced more than 150 films in thirteen Indian languages. He was also the Member of Parliament in the 13th Lok Sabha from 1999 to 2004 for the Bapatala constituency of Guntur District.
Ramanaidu was honored with Padma Bhushan, India’s third highest civilian award for his remarkable contribution in Telugu cinema in 2012. He was also the recipient of Dada Saheb Phalke Award, Raghupathi Venkaiah Award and the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award for his commendable work in the industry. He founded the ‘Ramanaidu Charitable Trust’ in the year 1991 and contributed a substantial part of his earnings to numerous philanthropic purposes of the trust.
In 2015, Ramanaidu was diagnosed with prostate cancer and he breathed his last in Hyderabad on 18th of February.
Personal Life:
D.Ramanaidu was born in Karamchedu village in Prakasam district (now in Andhra Pradesh) into an agricultural family on 6 June 1936 to Daggubati Venkateswarlu and Lakshmi Devamma. He had done his schooling in his hometown and finished his college studies in Chirala. Later, he graduated from Chennai’s Presidency College. Ramanaidu married Daggubati Rajeswari in 1958 and the couple was blessed with three children Daggubati Suresh Babu (a producer), Daggubati Venkatesh (Telugu actor) and Daggubati Lakshmi. He had eight grandchildren including Rana Daggubati and Naga Chaitanya who are supreme actors in Telugu cinema. Rana Daggubati recently made his debut in Hindi cinema and has gained a lot of popularity with it as well.
Ramanaidu began his career as a rice-mill owner and later shifted to the transport business. Daggubati Venkateswarlu, his father along with one of his relatives, co-produced the Telugu film Nammina Bantu in 1958, where Ramanaidu acted as the dupe of Akkineni Nageshwara Rao in the film. During this while, Savitri, the female lead of the film advised him to go to Chennai and work with film-makers. Ramanaidu closed his rice mill and moved to Chennai in 1962. He initially wanted to start a brick business but later shifted to real estate. He got acquainted with the Telugu film fraternities during his visits to the 'Andhra Club'. He was the member of the Telugu Desam Party from the year 1999 to 2004 and represented Baptala constituency in Guntur District in the 13th Lok Sabha. Ramanaidu lost his seat in the 14th Lok Sabha in 2004.
Professional Career:
Ramanaidu joined his friends and co-produced ‘Anuragam’ in 1963 which was a commercially unsuccessful movie. After his first unsuccessful movie he gathered his strength and established his own production house namely Suresh Productions, and in 1964 produced ‘Ramudu Bheemudu’. He has produced many movies in the Telugu film industry such as Pratigna Palana in 1965, Sri Krishna Tulabharam in 1966, Shree Janma in 1967, Paapa Kosam in 1968 and Sepoy Chinnaiah in 1969. During this period Ramudu Bheemudu remained his only box-office success. Ramanaidu partnered with B. Nagi Reddy's sons in Chennai and established a company named 'Vijaya Suresh Combines' and produced some films under this banner. He produced Prem Nagar in 1971 starring Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Vanisri and the film was a huge box office success. This film was also remade in Tamil and Hindi entitled Vasantha Maligai (1972) and Prem Nagar (1974) respectively. Ramanaidu produced both the versions and the movies were equally successful. He produced few more Tamil films in 1970s like Tirumangalyam, Namma Kuzhaindagal, Kuzhaindaikaga, Deiva Piravi and Kuzhaindaikaga.
Ramanaidu, with the help of the state government, started 'Ramanaidu Studios' (Hyderabad) in 1983. Apart from Tamil and Telugu cinema, he also produced movies in different languages including Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali, Marathi, Oriya, Bhojpuri, Punjabi and Gujarati. He has also produced some of the greatest Hindi blockbusters such as Tohfa, Dildar, Anari, Aaghaaz and Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain. Till today, he produced more than 150 films in 13 different Indian languages. He has also acted in few films and for the first time in 2007, he played a full-length role in the Telugu film ‘Hope’. The film was based on teenage suicides arising out of educational stress. The film won the Best Film Award on Other Social Issues at the 54th National Film Awards.
Ill Health and Death:
Ramanaidu was diagnosed with prostate cancer in January 2014. He breathed his last at the age of 78 on 18 February 2015. Many Tollywood actors like Nagarjuna, Chiranjeevi, Pawan Kalyan, Allu Arjun, Ram Charan and Ravi Teja paid their last respect to Shri Daggubati Ramanaidu.
Words and Wishes:
Narendra Modi:
"I condole the demise of Shri D Ramanaidu, a stalwart of the film industry. My thoughts are with his family and countless well-wishers".
Pranab Mukherjee:
“I pray to the Almighty to give your family and you the strength and courage to bear this irreparable loss. Please accept my heartfelt condolences and convey the same to all members of your family.”
N. Chandrababu Naidu:
"My sincere condolences over the demise of Dadasaheb Phalke Award winner and legendary producer D. Ramanaidu. He was a great man who worked hard to churn out several blockbusters in Telugu cinema industry. His contribution to the growth and development of Indian cinema is immeasurable. He was also a great philanthropist".
Riteish Deshmukh:
“Legendary filmmaker Daggubati Ramanaidu passes away-his contribution in building Indian Cinema is immense. thank you sir. RIP Deepest condolences to the Daggubati family- Suresh sir, Venky sir @RanaDaggubati”.
Madhur Bhandarkar:
“Sad to know Dadasaheb Phalke awardee, veteran producer of South & Hindi films, D Rama Naidu is no more. Heart goes out to d family. RIP,Sir”.
Sridevi:
‘Deeply saddened by the sudden demise of D Rama Naidu Garu. His legacy will live on for generations to come.'
Prakash Raj:
'Padma bhushana #Dr.Rama Naidu Garu... Thank you for enriching cinema.. We may never see the likes of u..Salute...RIP.
Awards and Recognitions:
D. Ramanaidu was honored with the prestigious Padma Bhushan award in 2013. He also received the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali Asukh in 1999, Best Film on Other Social Issues - Hope in 2006. In the year 2009 he was awarded with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, highest award for films in Indian cinema. He received the best feature film award for the movie Andhra Vaibhavam and Best Feature Film for movie Preminchu in 2001.He was also awarded the Raghupathi Venkaiah Award in 2006. Ramanaidu also won the third prize in Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film in 1970 for the movie Namma Kuzhanthaigal and second prize in 1977 for the movie Madhurageetham. He was also awarded the Filmfare Award (south) for Best Telugu Film Jeevana Tarangalu in 1973, Best Telugu Film Soggadu in 1976 and Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000. Ramanaidu was also honored with the doctorate degree from Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati.
Wife: Daggubati Rajeswari
Son: Suresh Babu Daggubati and Venkatesh Daggubati
Daughter: Daggubati Lakshmi
Grandchildren: Rana Daggubati and Naga Chaitanya
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