Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], October 4 (ANI): Veteran filmmaker, screenwriter and composer Singeetam Srinivasa Rao, who died on Saturday at the age of 94, has been remembered by filmmaker SS Rajamouli, who credited him with showing a generation of filmmakers that there were no limits to what could be done in cinema.
Rao, known for films such as Pushpaka Vimana, Aditya 369 and Mayuri, had a career spanning over six decades. He worked across several Indian languages and explored different genres, including comedy, fantasy, science fiction and drama.
Remembering the veteran filmmaker, Rajamouli took to X and recalled Rao’s willingness to experiment at a time when filmmakers had fewer tools and smaller budgets. Calling him someone who “dared to dream bigger”, Rajamouli wrote, “Long before we had the tools or the budgets, he dared to dream bigger than anyone around him. He made a film without a single line of dialogue, took us travelling through time, and moved from comedy to fantasy to deeply human drama as if no line existed between genres. He showed a whole generation of us that the only real limit in cinema is imagination.”
Long before we had the tools or the budgets, he dared to dream bigger than anyone around him. He made a film without a single line of dialogue, took us travelling through time, and moved from comedy to fantasy to deeply human drama as if no line existed between genres. He showed a whole generation of us that the only real limit in cinema is imagination. Every filmmaker who has tried something different in Telugu cinema owes him something, knowingly or not. I certainly do. My deepest condolences to Singeetham Srinivasa Rao garu’s family. Om Shanti 🙏
— rajamouli ss (@ssrajamouli) October 4, 2026
Rajamouli also spoke about Rao’s influence on Telugu cinema and said that filmmakers who chose to experiment owed something to him. “Every filmmaker who has tried something different in Telugu cinema owes him something, knowingly or not. I certainly do. My deepest condolences to Singeetham Srinivasa Rao garu’s family. Om Shanti,” he added.
Rao began his journey in cinema by working with veteran filmmaker KV Reddy. He was associated with the classic Mayabazar, released in 1957, before moving on to direct films himself.
Over the years, Rao directed more than 60 films and worked across different genres, including comedy, science fiction, fantasy and drama.
One of his well-known films was Mayuri, released in 1985 and based on the life of dancer Sudha Chandran. The film received several honours, including multiple Nandi Awards. Rao followed it with Pushpaka Vimana in 1987, a black comedy starring Kamal Haasan. The film was made without spoken dialogue and went on to win the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. His association with Kamal Haasan also resulted in films such as Apoorva Sagodharargal and Michael Madana Kama Rajan.
In Telugu cinema, Aditya 369 became one of Rao’s best-known films. The science-fiction film explored time travel at a time when the genre was still uncommon in Indian cinema. (ANI)
