HYDERABAD: Prominent Telugu film producer V.B. Rajendra Prasad, father of popular actor Jagapathi Babu, breathed his last here on Monday evening at a private hospital after a brief illness. He is survived by one daughter and three sons including actor Jagapathi Babu.
Born on November 4, 1932 in Gudivada of Krishna district, he wanted to become an actor but ended up as a producer with over 20 films on the Jagapathi Pictures and Jagapathi Art Productions and directed 14 films, including two each in Hindi and Tamil . His directorial debut, ‘Dasara Bullodu’, starring the late Akkineni Nageswara Rao, is said to be the first golden jubilee Telugu film, running over 50 weeks.
Veeramachineni Babu Rajendra Prasad wielded the megaphone for Telugu films like ‘Bangaru Babu’, ‘Muddula Koduku’ and ‘Manchi Manushulu’, to name a few. A hallmark of his products was that many of them were musical hits. His ‘Antasthulu’ got a national award in 1965 and apart from the K.V. Reddy Memorial Award in 2000, he also received the prestigious Raghupathi Venkayya Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2003.
Death condoled
Actor-turned Member of Parliament M. Muralimohan fondly recalled his long association with him and said though he had worked only in one film produced by Rajendra Prasad, he was like a family member to him. Music director Koti, of the ‘Raj-Koti’ duo said having grown up watching his films it was the break he got, composing the music for ‘Bangaru Bullodu’ that gave him the opportunity of a lifetime.
As soon as news of his demise spread, there was a spate of condolence messages.
They included Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Telugu Desam MP Y.S. Chowdary and actor-turned-MP K. Chiranjeevi, among others. They expressed shock and saying it was a heavy loss for the Telugu film industry.
