Singeetham Srinivasa Rao, Prolific Indian Filmmaker, Dies at 95

Per Variety, celebrated Indian filmmaker Singeetham Srinivasa Rao has died at the age of 95. He passed away on October 3 in Chennai after being unwell for some time.

Rao directed about 60 movies in multiple Indian languages, including Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Hindi. His career touched various genres, from farce and fantasy to mythology and science fiction. He also wrote music for several of his projects and appeared on screen occasionally.

He got his start working under director K.V. Reddy on films like "Mayabazar." Rao directed his first feature, "Neethi Nijayithi," in 1972. One of his early Tamil films, "Dikkatra Parvathi," won a National Film Award.

Rao had a long creative partnership with actor Kamal Haasan. Their collaborations include the silent comedy "Pushpaka Vimana" and the multi-role comedies "Apoorva Sagodharargal" and "Michael Madana Kama Rajan."

Other notable works include the biographical drama "Mayuri" and the time-travel film "Aditya 369." His final directorial effort, the musical "Sing Geetham," was released earlier this year.

Rao received numerous honors, including a Life Achievement Award from the Film Federation of India in 2011.