| Kasinadhuni Viswanath | |
|---|---|
| Born | Repalle, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh |
| Occupation | Director, writer, actor |
| Years active | 1957–present |
| Awards | Padma Shri, National Film Awards |
Kasinadhuni Vishwanath (Telugu: కాశినాథుని విశ్వనాథ్) is an Indian film director and actor from Telugu Cinema. He is a multiple winner of National Film Award and Nandi Award. K. Viswanath has directed Bollywood films like Sargam, Kaamchor, Shubh Kaamna, Jag Utha Insaan, Sanjog, Sur Sangam, Eeshwar, Sangeet and Dhanwaan.[1]
Viswanath has directed films like Swathi Muthyam which was India's official entry to the Oscars for 1986. Swathi Muthyam and Sagara Sangamam won Asian Film Awards for "Best Film" and "Best Actor".[2] Sankarabharanam, Swayam Krushi, Siri Siri Muvva and Swathi Muthyam were showcased at the Moscow Film Festival.[3][4][5] Sankarabharanam, Sagara Sangamam, Swarnakamalam and Swathi Kiranam were showcased in the Indian Panorama section at International Film Festival of India.[6][7][8]
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Viswanath was born to Sri Kasinadhuni Subrahmanyam and Smt Kasinadhuni Saraswatamma in a middle-class traditional Telugu family and hails from Peddapulivarru, near Repalle in Andhra Pradesh, India.
Viswanath is married and has three children: Padmavathi, Nagendranath and Ravindranath.[9]
Director Dr. K. Viswanath is one of the best directors the Telugu film industry has produced. Through his work, he has created some truly memorable films that stand out as remarkable works of art in the field of Telugu cinema.
Viswanath began his career as a technician in a studio at Chennai and later assisted Adurthi Subba Rao in direction.[10] He also worked as an assistant to director Ramnoth.[11] He wished to work as an assistant to K. Balachander and Bapu.[12] He debuted as a director with Aatma Gowravam, which starred Akkineni Nageswara Rao. These were followed by Chelleli Kapuram, Sarada, O Sitha Kadha and Jeevana Jyothi which are powerful films centered around women.
It was in Siri Siri Muvva that the famed artistic touch of K. Viswanath first became visible to the people. This was followed by a series of films based on the themes of art, music and dance. Some of his later films discussed issues of social concern while others presented simple morals and facts of life to the common man in a palatable form.
K. Viswanath has made a mark in Telugu filmdom with his directorial style with most of his films rooted in Telugu nativity and tradition. With a judicious combination of artistic and commercial elements, he has created films that have appealed to the common cinema audience and to more discerning and selective ones. The films reflect the native forms of dance and music. With subtle narration added with judicial mix of comedy backed up by excellent music, his films glue audiences to the screen. His lead characters are never the regular stereotype hero roles but varied, very lively, situation-centric and thought-provoking. The fluency and the lyrical nature of his narration and the creativity in his ideas make his films thoroughly enjoyable and memorable.
The scenes and climax in Saptapadhi, the incidents leading up to the romance between Jayaprada and Kamal Hasan in SagaraSangamam, the manner in which Moon Moon Sen shows the beauty of nature to a blind man in Sirivennela, the way in which Bhanupriya comes to realize the significance of dance in her life in Swarna Kamalam are but a few examples of his directorial skill.
His career best 'Sankarabharanam shows the negligence of traditional Karnatic music with influence of western music, bringing out the best of efficacy in the traditional music towards the end. The film had until then a less-known actor J.V. Somayajulu in the lead, but it broke many commercial records by running for over one year in cinemas.
Chiranjeevi (Shubaleka, Swayamkrushi), Vekatesh (Swarnakamalam), Kamalhasan (Sagarasangamam, Swatimutyam), though are all popular heroes of cinema, they further established stardom with their performances in K. Viswanaths' films.
Viswanath has made many films dealing with a wide range of human and social issues: Saptapadhi, Sirivennela, Sutradharulu', Shubaleka, Sruthilayalu, Shubasankalpam, Aapadhbandhavudu, Swayamkrushi, and Swarnakamalam have lead characters representing different 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 SwayamKrishi he emphasizes the dignity and respectability of manual labor. In Subhalekha, he deals, in a humorous way, with the dowry system — one of the major evils in today's society. While Suthradharulu urges present-day society to recognize the need to adopt the ideals of non-violence, SwathiKiranam depicts the harm that can be caused by the baser 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 message. Yet Viswanaths' films were never offbeat cinema but wholesome entertainers those elevated the lead actors' 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.
Trivia has it that K. Viswanaths' luck is with film titles starting with 'S', as most of the films with the prefix were wholesome entertainers and commercial hits. The exception is his latest venture Subhapradham, which had Allari Naresh in lead rold, was a dampener.
Poornodaya Creations contributed to K. Viswanath's dreams of making meaningful films. Sri. A NageswaraRao firmly stood behind and encouraged K. Viswanath to make films with Telugu nativity that have real characters with whom audiences can associate with.
Poornodaya produced some of not just the commercial hits but milestone films of Viswanath's directional ventures thereby richly contributing to Tollywood like Sankarabharanam, Swatimutyam, Saagarasangamam, Sutradharulu, Aapadhbhandhavudu. So we fondly remember Telugu films not just for formula ones with typical stereotype song-dance-fight, but films of high quality with performances rich in emotional values reflecting our tradition and culture.
Viswanath ventured into mainstream acting. His first movie 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, Tagore, Aadavari Matalaku Ardhalu Verule and Tamil films like Kuruthipunal Kakkai Chiraginile, Mugavari, Bhagavathy, Pudiya Geethai, Yaradi Nee Mohini, and Rajapattai
He is playing a role in Siva Narayna Teertha in TTD's Sri Venkateswara Bhakthi Channel (SVBC).
| Year | Film | Language | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | Todi Kodallu | Telugu | Sound department |
| 1961 | Iddaru Mitrulu | Telugu | Assistant Director |
| 1963 | Chaduvukunna Ammayilu | Telugu | Screenplay, writer |
| 1963 | Mooga Manasulu | Telugu | Assistant director |
| 1964 | Doctor Chakravarthy | Telugu | Assistant director |
| 1965 | Aatma Gowravam | Telugu | Director |
| 1967 | Private Master | Telugu | Director |
| 1967 | Sudigundalu | Telugu | Screenplay writer and director |
| 1968 | Kalisochchina Adrushtam | Telugu | Director |
| 1968 | Undamma Bottu Pedata | Telugu | Director |
| 1969 | Nindu Hridayalu | Telugu | Director |
| 1969 | Sabhash Satyam | Telugu | Director |
| 1971 | Chelleli Kapuram | Telugu | Director |
| 1971 | Chinnanaati Snehithulu | Telugu | Director |
| 1971 | Nindu Dampatulu | Telugu | Director |
| 1972 | Kalam Marindi | Telugu | Story, screenplay writer and director |
| 1973 | Neramu Siksha | Telugu | Screenplay, writer and director |
| 1973 | Sharada | Telugu | Director |
| 1974 | Amma Manasu | Telugu | Story, screenplay writer and director |
| 1974 | O Seeta Katha | Telugu | Director |
| 1975 | Chinna Nati Kalalu | Telugu | Director |
| 1975 | Jeevana Jyoti | Telugu | Director |
| 1976 | Mangalyaniki Maromudi | Telugu | Screenplay, writer and director |
| 1976 | Prema Bhandam | Telugu | Director |
| 1977 | Chilanka | Telugu | Director |
| 1977 | Jeevita Nouka | Telugu | Director |
| 1978 | Kaalanthakulu | Telugu | Director |
| 1978 | SeethamaLakshmi | Telugu | Story, screenplay, writer and director |
| 1978 | Siri Siri Muvva | Telugu | Story, screenplay, writer and director |
| 1979 | President Peramma | Telugu | Director |
| 1979 | Sankarabharanam | Telugu | Story writer and director |
| 1979 | Sargam | Hindi | Director |
| 1980 | Alludu Pattina Bharatham | Telugu | Director |
| 1981 | Sapthapadi | Telugu | Story, screenplay writer and director |
| 1980 | Subhodayam | Telugu | Story-writer and director |
| 1982 | Kaamchor | Hindi | Director |
| 1982 | Subhalekha | Telugu | Story, screenplay, writer and director |
| 1983 | Saagara Sangamam | Telugu | Story-writer and director |
| 1983 | Shubh Kaamna | Hindi | Director |
| 1984 | Janani Janmabhoomi | Telugu | Story, screenplay writer and director |
| 1985 | Jaag Utha Insan | Hindi | Director |
| 1985 | Sanjog | Hindi | Director |
| 1985 | Sur Sangam | Hindi | Director |
| 1985 | Swathi Muthyam | Telugu | Story, screenplay, writer and director |
| 1986 | Sirivennela | Telugu | Story, screenplay, writer and director |
| 1987 | Srutilayalu | Telugu | Story, screenplay, writer and director |
| 1987 | Swayamkrushi | Telugu | Story, screenplay, writer and director |
| 1988 | Sangeeta Sangamam | Malayalam | Director |
| 1988 | Swarna Kamalam | Telugu | Story, screenplay, writer and director |
| 1989 | Eeshwar | Hindi | Story, screenplay, writer and director |
| 1990 | Suthradharulu | Telugu | Story, screenplay, writer and director |
| 1992 | Aapathbandhavudu | Telugu | Story, screenplay, writer and director |
| 1992 | Sangeet | Hindi | Director |
| 1992 | Swathi Kiranam | Telugu | Story, screenplay, writer and director |
| 1993 | Dhanwaan | Hindi | Director |
| 1995 | Subha Sankalpam | Telugu | Actor and director |
| 1995 | Vajram | Telugu | Actor |
| 1996 | Kuruthipunal | Tamil | Actor: Sreenivasan |
| 1997 | Chinnabbayi | Telugu | Director |
| 2000 | Mugavaree | Tamil | Actor |
| 2000 | Kalisundam Raa | Telugu | Actor |
| 2001 | Narasimha Naidu | Telugu | Actor: Raghupati Naidu |
| 2001 | Ninnu Choodalani | Telugu | Actor: Siva Reddy |
| 2002 | Nee Sneham | Telugu | Actor: grandfather of Amrutha |
| 2002 | Nuvvu Leka Nenu Lenu | Telugu | Actor |
| 2002 | Rifles | Telugu | Actor: |
| 2002 | Santosham | Telugu | Actor: Ramachandraiah |
| 2003 | Anbe Sivam | Tamil | Actor: |
| 2003 | Tagore | Telugu | Actor: Chief Minister |
| 2004 | Lakshmi Narasimha | Telugu | Actor: father of Lakshmi Narasimha |
| 2004 | Swarabhishekam | Telugu | Actor, story, screenplay writer and director |
| 2005 | Andhrudu | Telugu | Actor: father of Surendra |
| 2005 | Athadu | Telugu | Actor: CBI Officer |
| 2005 | Gowtam SSC | Telugu | Actor: |
| 2007 | Aadavari Matalaku Ardhalu Verule | Telugu | Actor: grandfather of Keerthi |
| 2008 | Pandurangadu | Telugu | Actor: father of Pundarika |
| 2009 | Yaaradi Nee Mohini | Tamil | Actor: grandfather of Keerthi |
| 2010 | Subhapradam | Telugu | Director |
| 2011 | Mr. Perfect | Telugu | grandfather of Tapsee |
| 2011 | Rajapattai | Tamil | Actor |
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