Kasinathuni Viswanath

Kasinathuni Viswanath (born 19 February 1930)

is an Indian lm, sound designer turned director and
actor known for his works in Telugu Cinema, and
Bollywood. He is the recipient of ve National Film
Awards, ve Nandi Awards, ten Filmfare Awards South,
and a Bollywood Filmfare Award.
[1]
Viswanaths Hindi
lms include Sargam, Kaamchor, Sanjog, Jaag Utha
Insan, Eeshwar, Sur Sangam, Shubh Kaamna, Sangeet
and Dhanwaan.
[2]
Viswanath has received international
recognition for his works, and is known for blending
parallel cinema elements with mainstream commercial
cinema.
[3] [4]
Viswanaths classical lms Sankarabharanam (1979)
and Sagara Sangamam (1983) were included among
CNN-IBN's list of hundred greatest Indian lms of
all time.
[5]
His directorial works Sankarabharanam and
Saptapadi, have garnered the National Film Award for
Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment
and Best Feature Film on National Integration, respec-
tively. Sankarabharanam, was premiered at the 8th
International Film Festival of India,
[6][7]
the Tashkent
Film Festival, and the Moscow International Film Fes-
tival held in May 1980,
[8]
and has also won the Prize of
the Public at the Besancon Film Festival of France in the
year 1981.
[9]
Viswanaths Swati Mutyam was Indias ocial entry to
the 59th Academy Awards. Swati Mutyam, Sagara
Sangamam and Sirivennela were premiered at the Asia
Pacic Film Festival.
[10]
Swayam Krushi was pre-
miered to special mention at the Moscow International
Film Festival.
[11]
Sankarabharanam, Sagara Sangamam,
Shrutilayalu, Swarnakamalam and Swati Kiranam were
premiered in the Indian Panorama section at International
Film Festival of India,
[12][13][14]
and AISFM Film Festi-
val.
[15]
1 Early Life
Viswanath was born on 19 Feb 1930 to Sri Kasinadhuni
Subrahmanyam and Smt Kasinadhuni Saraswatamma in
a Telugu speaking family. His ancestral roots come from
Pedapulivarru, a small village on the banks of River
Krishna.
[16] [17]
2 Personal life
Viswanath is married to Jaya Lakshmi and has three chil-
dren: Padmavati, Nagendranath and Ravindranath.
[18]
He speaks uent Telugu, Tamil, and English. He has four
grand children- Naren, Pranav, Swarna and Hema. None
of his children have ventured into the lm industry but
have chosen other careers.
3 Early life and career
Viswanath began his career as a technician in a stu-
dio at Chennai and later assisted Adurthi Subba Rao in
direction.
[19]
He also worked as an assistant to director
Ramnoth.
[20]
He wished to work as an assistant to K.
Balachander and Bapu.
[21]
He debuted as a director with
Aatma Gowravam, which starred Akkineni Nageswara
Rao and won the Nandi Award for Best Feature Film
of the year. These were followed by Chelleli Kapuram,
Sarada, O Seeta Katha and Jeevana Jyoti which are pow-
erful lms centered around women.
It was in Siri Siri Muvva that the famed artistic touch of
K. Viswanath rst became visible to the people. This was
followed by a series of lms based on the themes of art,
music and dance. Some of his later lms discussed issues
of social concern while others presented simple morals
and facts of life to the common man in a palatable form.
4 Directorial style
His one of the career best (hard to pick as he is a perfec-
tionist) 'Sankarabharanam shows the negligence of tra-
ditional Indian music with inuence of western music,
bringing out the best of ecacy in the traditional mu-
sic towards the end. The lm had until then a less-known
actor J.V. Somayajulu in the lead, but it broke many com-
mercial records by running for over one year in cinemas.
5 Films with social issues
Viswanath has made many lms dealing with a wide
range of human and social issues: Saptapadi, Siriven-
nela, Sutradharulu', Subhalekha, Shrutilayalu, Sub-
hasankalpam, Aapadbandhavudu, Swayam krushi, and
1
2 9 AWARDS
Swarnakamalam have lead characters representing dier-
ent strata of society, meticulously etched to suit the larger
picture.
In Saptapadi, he decries the evils of untouchability and
the caste system. In Subhodayam and Swayam Krushi he
emphasizes the dignity and respectability of manual la-
bor. In Subhalekha, he deals, in a humorous way, with
the dowry system one of the major evils in todays so-
ciety. While Sutradharulu urges present-day society to
recognize the need to adopt the ideals of non-violence,
Swati Kiranam depicts the harm that can be caused by
the basic instincts of envy and anger in a man, however
accomplished he may be.
In spite of the nature of these subjects, they are presented
in a subtle manner with an imaginative story line, with
just the right amount of emphasis on the intended mes-
sage. Yet Viswanaths lms were never obeat cinema
but wholesome entertainers those elevated the lead ac-
tors image. He is a director with social-conscious mind
and who believes cinema can bring out desirable changes
in society if presented in a format liked by a cross section
of audience.
6 Association with Poornodaya
Creations
Poornodaya Creations contributed to K. Viswanaths
dreams of making meaningful lms. Sri. E
NageswaraRao rmly stood behind and encouraged K.
Viswanath to make lms with Telugu nativity that have
real characters with whom audiences can associate with.
Poornodaya produced some of not just the commer-
cial hits but milestone lms of Viswanaths directional
ventures thereby richly contributing to Tollywood like
Sankarabharanam, Swatimutyam, Saagarasangamam,
Sutradharulu, Aapadbandhavudu. So we fondly remem-
ber Telugu lms not just for formula ones with typical
stereotype song-dance-ght.
7 Mainstream acting
In 1995, Viswanath ventured into mainstream acting.
His rst lm as an actor was Subha Sankalpam. Later
on he did many movies such as Swarabhishekam which
he himself directed and acted and other movies like
Pandurangadu, Narasimha Naidu, Lakshmi Narasimha,
Seemasimham, Santosham, Tagore, Aadavari Matalaku
Arthale Verule and Tamil lms like Kuruthipunal, Kakkai
Chiraginile, Mugavari, Bhagavathy, Pudiya Geethai,
Yaradi Nee Mohini, and Rajapattai. He is playing a role in
Siva Narayna Teertha in TTDs Sri Venkateswara Bhakthi
Channel (SVBC). He also plays in serials like Chellamey
which is the owner of an orphanage.
8 Other work
Viswanath has given advertisements to GRTJewellers.
[22]
9 Awards
Civilian Honor
Padmashri, Government of India
Honorary Doctorate
Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University
International Honor
Prize of the Public at the Besancon Film Festival of
France 1981 for Sankarabharanam
[23]
National Film Awards
1980 National Film Award for Best Popu-
lar Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment for
Sankarabharanam
1982 Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on
National Integration for Saptapadi
1987 National Film Award for Best Feature Film
in Telugu for Swati Mutyam
1990 National Film Award for Best Feature Film
in Telugu for Sutradharulu
2005 National Film Award for Best Feature Film
in Telugu for Swarabhishekam
Filmfare Awards
[1]
1974: Filmfare Best Director Award (Telugu) for O
Seeta Katha
1975: Filmfare Best Director Award (Telugu) for
Jeevana Jyoti
1982: Filmfare Best Director Award (Telugu) for
Subhalekha
1983: Filmfare Best Director Award (Telugu) for
Saagara Sangamam
1986: Filmfare Best Director Award (Telugu) for
Swati Mutyam
1987: Filmfare Best Director Award (Telugu) for
Shruti Layalu
1989: Filmfare Best Story Award for Eeshwar Hindi
lm
3
1992: Filmfare Best Director Award (Telugu) for
Aapadbandhavudu
1994: Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award
(South)
1995: Filmfare Best Director Award (Telugu) for
Subha Sankalpam
Nandi Awards
1986: Nandi Award for Best Director - Swati
Mutyam
1987: Nandi Award for Best Director - Shruti Lay-
alu
1992: Raghupathi Venkaiah Award Lifetime
achievement
1995: Nandi Award for Best Character Actor -
Subha Sankalpam
2000: Nandi Award for Best Supporting Actor -
Kalisundam Raa
10 Other Honors
Viswa Vikhyata Darsaka Sarvabhowma
[24]
Chittor V. Nagaiah Puraskaram
[25]
11 Filmography
12 References
[1] 52nd National Film Awards. Directorate of Film Festi-
vals. Akal Information Systems Ltd. p. 81. Retrieved 20
January 2012.
[2] KVishwanath to direct Hrithik. The Times Of India. 12
September 2003.
[3] Special Correspondent (20 February 2012).
NATIONAL / ANDHRA PRADESH : Director
K. Viswanath to be feted. The Hindu. Retrieved 5
September 2012.
[4] Arts / History & Culture : Celebrating a doyen. The
Hindu. 26 April 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
[5] 100 Years of Indian Cinema: The 100 greatest Indian
lms of all time|Movies News Photos-IBNLive. Ibn-
live.in.com (17 April 2013). Retrieved on 2013-07-28.
[6] Directorate of Film Festival. I.nic.in. Retrieved
2013-01-01.
[7] aatapaatalu.net/2011/04/
spl-interview-with-edida-nageswararao.January 2013.
[8] http://dff.nic.in/2011/IP1981.pdf
[9] Directorate of Film Festival. I.nic.in. Retrieved
2013-01-01.
[10] Prakash KL. Sagara Sangamam to be screened at Ka-
mals lms fest | - Oneindia Entertainment. Entertain-
ment.oneindia.in. Retrieved 2012-09-04.
[11] Chiranjeevi felicitation on Padma Bhushan honor - Telugu
Cinema actor
[12] Directorate of Film Festival. I.nic.in. Retrieved 4
September 2012.
[13] 300 lms during 11 days from 47 countries in IFFI-2009.
Literature India. Retrieved on 28 July 2013.
[14] Directorate of Film Festival. I.nic.in. Retrieved 4
September 2012.
[15] The lms of K. Viswanath AISFM Blog
[16] Andhra Pradesh / Guntur News : Society needs good
lms, says K. Viswanath. The Hindu (25 July 2010). Re-
trieved on 2013-07-28.
[17] Entertainment Hyderabad / Events : Viswanath felici-
tated. The Hindu (22 July 2005). Retrieved on 2013-07-
28.
[18] Viswanath vows to continue his mission. The Hindu. 17
April 2010.
[19] redi.com, Movies: Interview with K Viswanath. Red-
i.com (3 May 2000). Retrieved on 2013-07-28.
[20] Stamp in honour of director L.V. Prasad. The Hindu. 1
September 2006.
[21] Reporters Diary. The Hindu. 19 September 2006.
[22] GRT Jewellers NewAd with KViswanath By DYKishore
- YouTube
[23] Directorate of Film Festival. I.nic.in. Retrieved 4
September 2012.
[24] Special Correspondent (20 February 2012).
NATIONAL / ANDHRA PRADESH : Director
K. Viswanath to be feted. The Hindu. Retrieved 5
September 2012.
[25] Arts / History & Culture : Celebrating a doyen. The
Hindu. 26 April 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
13 External links
Kasinathuni Viswanath at the Internet Movie
Database
4 14 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES
14 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses
14.1 Text
Kasinathuni Viswanath Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kasinathuni_Viswanath?oldid=631174206 Contributors: Bryan Derksen,
JohnOwens, Oliver Pereira, Menchi, Ixfd64, Arwel Parry, Kaysov, Colin Marquardt, Owen, Mushroom, Asparagus, Vanished user
1234567890, Huaiwei, D6, Bender235, AppleJuggler, Amorymeltzer, Gene Nygaard, Tabletop, BD2412, Rjwilmsi, Koavf, Punk11,
NekoDaemon, Gurubrahma, Bgwhite, Howcheng, Deville, Crystallina, SmackBot, Nvsudhakar, OrphanBot, Matchups, Karthik.raman,
Arjun1591, Tkvenugopal, Wizardman, Mlpkr, Gnt, Tatvamasi, Sganeshkumar 1989, Randhirreddy, Cydebot, Us.apguy, Gimmetrow, Med-
topic, Qwyrxian, RobotG, Sharmanic2002, AtticusX, Kajasudhakarababu, Waacstats, Twsx, Dharmadhyaksha, CommonsDelinker, Sku-
marlabot, Salih, Naniwako, Hnaluru, Rajasekhar1961, Nkasinadhuni, Vimalkalyan, Monkeymox, Blueskkys, Mailramk, Maelgwnbot, Im-
ageRemovalBot, Mild Bill Hiccup, Niceguyedc, Amar intelli, DumZiBoT, XLinkBot, Bluegreen naren, Cmr08, Addbot, Favonian, Tassede-
the, Lightbot, Bojja, Yobot, Pavn123, Santryl, Jos pr kr, Wikibitzer, Dsrivallabha, AnomieBOT, Iamatom, Materialscientist, FreeRange-
Frog, Sateeshyanamandra, FrescoBot, Tinton5, Sreekanth.ece, Ravi.adabala, Srivathsan2711, Full-date unlinking bot, Crusoe8181, Sailpra,
Kiran.govindu3, RjwilmsiBot, DRAGON BOOSTER, GoingBatty, Kirantelukunta, Active Banana, Vensatry, Rameshreddymaram, Pp-
wrong, Vivvt, Prabhu6, Nagarjuna198, Jinnyjolly, ClueBot NG, Mathpichhi, Letliv31, Kaverijha23, Udhaywiki, Swaroopkumar.badam,
Bkamapantula, Sriharanathrayala, Secret of success, Titodutta, Mohanjodaro21, Editor 2050, Jeevanantham Karunanithi, BG19bot, Sru-
janachavala, Wikileaks23, Sreekar akkineni, Singimonkey, Lyricstelugu, Skayala, DPL bot, Pradumnrajvanshi12, Pt.gaali, Masti 84,
Gvprasad, Intercell, AngajalaARS, Hiteccity, Thamannasstummy, Reva.2011, GarylawyerNFA, Aarakshan, Kekamohan, ChrisGualtieri,
Panickroom, Paansing, Keshavaiesec, Avi2188, VIAFbot, Nandhakishore, Murrallli, Vgnome, Vamshi777, Paradoxkc, Kendall rayanne,
Mohankkona, Gnyan1, Filedelinkerbot, Tharunu, Mathsraja, Nagaphani9, Bioasia2013, Mardaani, Bhishek and Anonymous: 186
14.2 Images
14.3 Content license
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0