Producer Daggubati Ramanaidu was cremated with state honours at Hyderabad's Ramanaidu Studios on February 19. His son, producer Suresh Babu, lit the funeral pyre. Mr Ramanaidu, producer of over 150 films in 13 languages, died on February 18 in hospital. He was 78 and had been fighting cancer. ( Daggubati Ramanaidu: Producer. Politician. Legend)
Mr Ramanaidu's body had been placed at the studio and a steady stream of actors and politicians arrived to say a final farewell to the late producer. (Also Read: Daggubati Ramanaidu's Legacy Will Live On, Say Bollywood Celebrities)
Actress Sridevi, who starred in Mande Gundelu, Thanikattu Raja, Maqsad and other films produced by Mr Ramanaidu, was escorted by her husband Boney Kapoor. Among the other mourners was actress Jayaparada, who starred in several Ramanaidu productions including Prema Mandiram, Devatha and Tohfa. Badminton star Jwala Gutta also arrived to pay her last respects.
Others present at the studio this morning were superstar Nagarjuna and his son Akhil Akkineni, and Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao.
Actor Ram Charan Teja, whose father Chiranjeevi visited Mr Ramanaidu's residence yesterday, stood by actor Rana Daggubati, who is Mr Ramanaidu's grandson. Rana's father and uncle - producer Suresh and actor Venkatesh - greeted those who came to pay their respects to the late filmmaker.
Daggubati Ramanaidu received the Padma Bhushan and the Dada Saheb Phalke Award - two of the government of India's highest honours. He also served as the Telugu Desam MP from Bapatla in Guntur from 1999 to 2004. Apart from Sridevi and Jayaprada, his films starred many of India's leading actors - Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, A Nageswara Rao, NTR, Rajesh Khanna, Chiranjeevi, Hema Malini, Rekha and Jeetendra.
In a video message, Kamal Haasan said Mr Ramanaidu was a 'national producer' and a hero to everyone, including the new generation.
The last film Mr Ramanaidu produced was Gopala Gopala, starring his son Venkatesh, which released in January this year.
