ANR's Birthday Celebration In 100 Years Of Indian Cinema Fete?

Veteran actor Akkineni Nageswara Rao's (ANR) 90th birthday, which falls Sep 20, will likely to be celebrated on the opening day of the centenary celebrations of Indian cinema, which will take place here between Sep 21 and Sep 24.

"It hasn't been confirmed yet but there are plans to kick start the event with his (ANR) birthday celebration. However, the idea hasn't gone down well with some industry members who believe an event like this can't be used to celebrate birthday functions," IANS quotes a member of the organising committee as saying.

The member added, "The committee wanted to celebrate ANR's birthday because he is the senior most actor in the industry. However, since the idea has received flak from a few, the organisers are now in a dilemma whether to go ahead with the plan or not."

The 89-year old Akkineni Nageswara Rao has starred in over 200 films in a span of over five decades. C Kalyan, president of South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce (SIFCC), said, "We will announce if we plan to celebrate his birthday during the event. As of now, events related to the Telugu industry are slated to be celebrated on September 22 evening. There is no change in the itinerary."

Tamil Nadu state government has partnered with SIFCC to make this event a success. He added "The opening day has been set aside for celebration of Tamil cinema. On the closing day, members from all the four southern industries (Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam) will be honoured."