Krishna Ghattamaneni
Biography
Ghattamaneni Siva Rama Krishna Murthy (31 May 1943 – 15 November 2022), known mononymously as Krishna, was an Indian actor, film director, and film producer known for his work predominantly in Telugu cinema. In a career spanning more than five decades, he starred in over 350 films in a variety of roles.
He is referred to as "Superstar" in the Telugu media. In 2009, for his contributions to Indian cinema, the Indian government awarded him the Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian award in the country. He was elected as a Member of Parliament for the Congress party in 1989. In 1997, he received the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award – South in addition to an Honorary doctorate from Andhra University in 2008. He died on 15 November 2022 due to cardiac arrest.
Krishna was credited with producing many technological firsts in the Telugu film industry such as the first Cinemascope film – Alluri Seetarama Raju (1974), the first Eastmancolor film – Eenadu (1982), the first 70mm film – Simhasanam (1986), the first DTS film – Telugu Veera Levara (1995) and introducing the cowboy genre to the Telugu screen.
He uniquely starred in the spy films Gudachari 116 (1966), James Bond 777 (1971), Agent Gopi (1978), Rahasya Gudachari (1981) and Gudachari 117 (1989). Krishna directed Sankharavam (1987), Mugguru Kodukulu (1988), Koduku Diddina Kapuram (1989), Bala Chandrudu (1990) and Anna Thammudu (1990), casting his son Mahesh Babu in pivotal roles.
He is also noted for pairing up with the same leading actress on scores of productions. He worked with Vijaya Nirmala on 48 films and with Jaya Prada on 47. He worked with major directors including Adurthi Subba Rao, V. Madhusudhana Rao, K. Viswanath, Bapu, Dasari Narayana Rao, and K. Raghavendra Rao.
