The Telugu film world is mourning the loss of a unique talent K Viswanath. He died at the age of 91 after suffering from old age problems. Many people from within and outside Telugu cinema are coming to the scene to share their memories and express their condolences.
Kasinadhuni Viswanath was a director who gained national fame for Telugu cinema through films with artistic values. He started his career as a sound recordist at Vahini Studios in Madras and very quickly became a great asset to the Indian film industry.
Viswanath was introduced to world cinema in the 1980 film Shankarabharanam. Shankarabharanam was also the first regional pan-Indian film in India. The film, which was about the gap between Carnatic music and Western music, was an incredible success. Later, the film was released with the same title in Malayalam and other languages. With this, Indian cinema took over from K Vishwanath, the director. The film also won the Swarna Kamalam Award for the best film of 1980.
The huge success of Shankarabharan pushed Vishwanath to do more films. Most of them were important for music. Sagara Sangam, Swati Kiran, Svarna Kamalam, Sruthilayalu, and Swarabhishekam are just a few of them. Swathikiran was the film in which Mammootty starred. This was one of the best roles in Mammootty's career. Sagara Sangamam is one of Kamal Haasan's top five movies. His Hindi films include Kamchor, Shubh Kamana, Jaag Uta Insaan, Sanjog, Ishwar, and Dhanwan.
K. Viswanath, who directed fifty films, was also a screenwriter and actor. He has acted in films like Yaradi Nee Mohini, Linga, and Uttama Villan. He was honoured with the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 1992. In 2016, he was awarded the Dadasahib Phalke Award, the highest film honour given by the Government of India. This was in recognition of his overall contribution to the field of film. K Vishwanath, who gave the legend "Shankarabharanam" to Indian cinema, will live on in the minds of the audience through his films.
Mammootty, an actor, expressed his condolences on Vishwanath's death. Mammootty wrote, "Deeply saddened by the demise of Shri K Vishwanath Garu. I had the good fortune to be a part of Swati Kiran, directed by him. My thoughts and prayers are with his loved ones." Actors like Kamal Haasan, Chiranjeevi, and Rajinikanth have also expressed their condolences.
