Akkineni Nageswara Rao's Funeral: Tollywood To Shut On Thursday
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oi-IANS
By Ians English
The
Telugu
film
industry,
which
plunged
into
gloom
Wednesday
following
the
death
of
legendary
actor
Akkineni
Nageswara
Rao,
will
remain
shut
on
Thursday.
The
industry
members
and
eminent
personalities
from
various
walks
of
life
made
a
beeline
to
pay
their
last
respects
to
the
thespian
at
Annapurna
Studio,
which
he
founded
in
the
1960s.
Shooting
and
other
filmmaking
activities
were
suspended
as
a
mark
of
respect
to
the
icon,
who
was
the
first
film
personality
to
shift
base
from
Chennai
to
Hyderabad
after
formation
of
Andhra
Pradesh
in
1956.
Movie
Artists
Association
(MAA)
president
Murali
Mohan
called
for
a
total
shutdown
of
the
film
industry
Thursday
to
mourn
the
death
of
Rao.
He
also
called
for
closure
of
all
film
theatres
across
the
state.
Murali
Mohan
told
reporters
after
paying
respects
to
late
leader
at
Annapurna
Studio
that
representatives
of
South
Indian
Film
Chamber,
Telugu
Film
Chamber
of
Commerce,
Producers'
Council,
Telangana
Film
Chamber
of
Commerce
and
other
bodies
would
go
in
a
procession
and
pay
their
tributes
to
Rao
before
his
last
rites,
which
may
be
held
Thursday
or
Friday.
Rao's
family
has
not
taken
a
decision
in
this
regard.
On
behalf
of
the
industry,
Murali
Mohan
requested
Nageswara
Rao's
family
to
perform
his
last
rites
at
Annapurna
Studio
as
he
built
the
facility
and
it
was
close
to
his
heart.
He
requested
Rao's
actor
son
Nagarjuna
to
also
build
a
memorial
at
the
studio.
Murali
said,
"It
is
a
sad
day
not
just
for
the
Telugu
and
Indian
cinema
but
for
the
world
cinema.
I
don't
think
there
was
any
actor
in
the
world
who
was
(around)
90
but
was
still
acting."
Leading
actors,
filmmakers
and
other
artists,
leaders
from
various
political
parties
and
hundreds
of
fans
poured
in
to
pay
their
tributes.
Some
broke
down
while
recalling
their
association
with
'Natasamrat' as
Nageswara
Rao
was
known
in
film
circles.
The
thespian,
who
was
battling
intestinal
cancer
for
the
last
few
months,
breathed
his
last
at
a
private
hospital
in
the
early
hours
of
Wednesday.
He
was
89.
In
a
career
spanning
over
seven
decades,
Nageswara
Rao
acted
in
about
255
films
and
was
the
last
of
the
first-generation
actors
of
Telugu
film
industry,
which
produces
the
second
largest
number
of
films
after
Bollywood.