Singeetham Srinivasa Rao, Visionary Director of Aditya 369, Pushpaka Vimana, Dies
The filmmaker behind Mayuri, Bhairava Dweepam and several landmark Kamal Haasan films remained creatively active into his 90s, returning to direction this year with Sing Geetham.
Veteran filmmaker Singeetham Srinivasa Rao, whose restless experimentation produced some of Indian cinema’s most distinctive films across Telugu, Tamil and Kannada, died in Chennai on Saturday, October 3. He was 95.
The filmmaker died at Kauvery Hospital in Chennai after a period of ill health, according to reports. News of his death was shared by members of the film fraternity, including Jr NTR.
Singeetham’s death came less than four months after the theatrical release of Sing Geetham, his 61st directorial venture and an extraordinary late-career return from a filmmaker who continued searching for new cinematic forms well into his 90s.
Produced by Nag Ashwin under Vyjayanthi Movies and Swapna Cinema, Sing Geetham was released worldwide on June 12. The musical fantasy featured Ayaan, Ahilya Bamroo and Shalini Kondepudi, with music by Devi Sri Prasad.
The project had been in Singeetham’s imagination for decades. Its central experiment was characteristic of the director: instead of conventional spoken exchanges, much of the film’s dialogue unfolds through song.
Even his age and health did not entirely keep him away from filmmaking. Nag Ashwin said during the film’s release that when Singeetham was unable to travel for part of the Hyderabad shoot, a virtual monitor was installed at his home so that he could watch the proceedings and direct the unit through a headset. The production was completed in roughly 77 to 78 shooting days.
That determination was consistent with a career built around ignoring conventional boundaries.
In Pushpaka Vimana (1987), starring Kamal Haasan and Amala Akkineni, Singeetham made a feature without spoken dialogue, relying instead on images, performance, sound and physical comedy. The film received the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment.
With Aditya 369 (1991), starring Nandamuri Balakrishna, he brought time travel and science fiction into mainstream Telugu cinema in a form that would retain a devoted following for decades. He later reunited with Balakrishna for the elaborate fantasy adventure Bhairava Dweepam (1994).
His range extended far beyond fantasy and science fiction.
Mayuri, based on the life of dancer Sudha Chandran, became another defining film in his career. His collaborations with Kamal Haasan included Sommokadidhi Sokokadidhi, Raja Paarvai, Pushpaka Vimana, Apoorva Sagodharargal and the celebrated comedy Michael Madana Kama Rajan.
Singeetham also built an important body of work in Kannada cinema, directing Rajkumar in films including Haalu Jenu, Chalisuva Modagalu, Eradu Nakshatragalu and Bhagyada Lakshmi Baramma.
Long before becoming a director himself, Singeetham learned filmmaking under K.V. Reddy, one of the foundational figures of Telugu cinema. He worked with Reddy during the era of classics such as Mayabazar, an apprenticeship that connected his career directly to Telugu cinema’s golden age.
Yet Singeetham rarely appeared interested in simply preserving the filmmaking conventions he inherited. Across comedy, drama, fantasy, science fiction and dialogue-free cinema, his work was distinguished by a willingness to test what a popular Indian film could be.
That instinct remained intact until the end.
In an interview published as recently as August, after the release of Sing Geetham, Singeetham was still discussing cinema, technology and future ideas. Nearly four decades after making a film in which nobody spoke, he had returned with one in which characters largely sang what they wanted to say.
It was a fitting final chapter for a filmmaker whose career was defined not by one genre, language or star, but by the desire to keep trying something he had not done before.
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