24 February,2011 12:53 PM IST | | PTI
Renowned Telugu film writer Mullapudi Venkata Ramana died of old-age related illness in Chennai today. He was 80. Ramana, whose real name is Venkata Rao, died at his residence in Chennai in the early hours today, sources said. Known for his comic yet emotional style of writing, he scored many hits in a career spanning over three decades.
Ramana, together with his close friend, famous movie director Bapu, produced several movies that won critical acclaim and went on to become box office hits.
'Vamsa Vriksham' (1980), one of the early regional films done by Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor, was made by the Bapu-Ramana duo. 'Andala Ramudu', 'Muthayala Muggu', 'Sakshi', 'Sampoorna Ramayanam', 'Bhakta Kannappa', 'Srinadha Kavi Sarva Bhowma', 'Pelli Pustakam' and 'Mr Pellam' were some of the Telugu films which brought him fame. He also worked for a few Hindi films like 'Hum Paanch' and 'Jeevan Jyoti'. Ramana worked with veteran Telugu actors like late N T Rama Rao, Akkineni Nageswara Rao, a Dadasaheb Phalke award recipient, Krishna, Sobhan Babu and also young actors such as Srikant.
Born at Dhavaleswaram in East Godavari district of coastal Andhra Pradesh, Ramana had to move to Chennai in search of livelihood at a young age along with his mother and brother following the death of his father.
Overcoming all odds, Ramana had an education and started writing at the age of 14. He started his professional life as a sub-editor with 'Andhra Patrika' in Chennai and continued to be a full time journalist for about eight years before moving into the film industry.
Ramana's non-film literary works were also hugely popular and generations of children in Andhra Pradesh grew up reading his book, 'Budugu'. His autobiography 'Kothi Komachi', published in 2009, won appreciation for its honesty and witty style. Several Telugu film personalities like Nageswara Rao, S P Balasubrahmanyam, Tanikella Bharani and Paruchuri Gopala Krishna condoled the death of Ramana.
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