K Viswanath

09 Feb, 1930 | Hyderabad, Telangana

Actor/Director

Biography

Kasinadhuni Viswanath aka K. Viswanath , was an acclaimed Telugu film director and actor whose contributions have been significant to Indian films through the Telugu film industry. K.Viswanath was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India for his contributions to Indian film. He was honoured with Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest award in Indian cinema, at the 64th National Film Awards. Personal life Viswanath was married to Jayalakshmi. The couple have three children, Padmavathi Devi, Nagendranath (alumnus of Andhra University,Vishakapatnam), Ravinadranath (alumnus of XLRI Jamshedpur and BITS Pilani). Career Life Before becoming a successful film maker, he was worked as an assistant director to many prominent directors in Telugu film industry. Viswanath  began his career as an assistant director to Ramnoth. He also had a wish to work with  K. Balachander and  Bapu. He then made his directorial debut with Aatma Gowravam in 1965. Starred Akkineni Nageswara Rao in the lead role, the film won Nandi Award for Best feature film. However, his full prowess in film-making flowered with a subsequent film called Siri Siri Muvva. Viswanath was a celebrated filmmaker in the Telugu film industry who made a remarkable contribution to Indian cinema. Swathi Muthyam was one of the most notable films in his career. It made India's official entry to the Oscars in 1986.   Apart from directing movies in Telugu industry, he had also been active in Tamil and Hindi cinema. He had directed a number of movies in both Tamil and Hindi launguages. His other notable projects include Kaamchor , Sangeet ,  Dhanwan , Chelleli Kapuram, O Seeta Katha, Jeevana Jyoti and Sarada. Death Viswanath garu passed away on 2 February 2023, at the age of 92 in Hyderabad.