B. Narasing Rao recognized as The Renaissance Man of our Times
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], May 5: If Renaissance is characterized by the renewal of ideas, forms and expressions from a given culture towards modern social reconstruction. It also had its own imprints in India of the 19th and 20th centuries, with its influence on scientists, thinkers and artists alike, producing great figures such as Rajaram Mohan Roy, […]
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], May 5: If Renaissance is characterized by the renewal of ideas, forms and expressions from a given culture towards modern social reconstruction. It also had its own imprints in India of the 19th and 20th centuries, with its influence on scientists, thinkers and artists alike, producing great figures such as Rajaram Mohan Roy, Jagadish Chandra Bose, Prafulla Chandra Ray, Rabindranath Tagore, etc. This influence continues to this day in the works and persona of B. Narasing Rao, who emerged to be a renowned director, producer, screenwriter, and actor, apart from excelling in a range of fields as Music, Museology, Literature, Photography, Painting, etc.
Embodying renaissance spirit and its ideal, Rao took to theatre as a student of fine arts, and found Art Lovers, an artist association, in 1960s. Rao being its president, they made several live performances in Telangana. By the early 1970s, Art Lovers, renamed as Jana Natya Mandali, became a haven of several artists, who made thousands of live performances, group shows and extempore plays for over four decades across the Telugu land.
However, by late seventies, he made his debut in films as co-author of Maa Bhoomi (Our Land), directed by Gautham Ghosh, and quickly became one of the most influential figures in Indian cinema. He directed and wrote half-a-dozen feature films, a dozen of documentaries and short films, all of them crowned him with coveted awards. His films have immensely impacted Indian film industry, that inspires filmmakers even today. Rao is also a great humanist, who believed in the power of art in establishing social harmony. With innovative storytelling techniques, accompanied by music that resonates with socio-cultural ambiance, his films communicate strong social message. With this, he inaugurated film movement across rural Telugu land that helped promote the growth of independent cinema in India; he is a true global citizen and his work reflected this.
For its excellence, his films, particularly Daasi (Slave) and Maa Ooru (My Village), were included in the reading lists of several prestigious universities and film schools; his movies were also showcased in more than 30 film festivals, nationally and internationally; they also represented India in International Film Festivals like Cairo 2004, Budapest 1999, Bergamo 1994, Berlin 1991-92, Moscow 1989 and 1991, Karlovi Vary 1990 and Munich 1989, where most of his films bagged awards as the best in more than one field, for their merit of distinction.
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