K. Viswanath

Viswanath was born on 19 February 1930 in a Telugu family to Kasinadhuni Subramanyam and Kasinadhuni Saraswathy (Saraswathamma) in Repalle of Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh.^[27] His ancestral roots come from Pedapulivarru, Andhra Pradesh, a small village on the banks of River Krishna.^[28][29] Viswanath studied Intermediate from Guntur Hindu College, and holds a BSc degree from Andhra Christian College of Andhra University.^[30] He began his career as a sound recordist at Vauhini Studios in Madras, where his father was an associate. There, he apprenticed under the guidance of A Krishnan, who was the Head of Sound Engineering at Vauhini. Viswanath and A Krishnan developed a close rapport and later after the former made the transition into film direction, he would always bounce ideas off the latter. Viswanath made his entry into film direction at Annapurna Pictures under Adurthi Subba Rao and K. Ramnoth.^[31][32] He wished to work as an assistant to director K. Balachander and Bapu.^[30]

During his early career, Viswanath was associated with Adurthi Subba Rao on National Award-winning films such as Mooga Manasulu (1964) and Doctor Chakravarty (1964).^[3][4] Viswanath scripted Sudigundalu (1968), and directed works such as Aatma Gowravam (1965), O Seeta Katha (1974) and Jeevana Jyothi (1975) which garnered the state Nandi Awards, and were screened at the Asian and African film Festival at Tashkent.^[33][5]

In 1951 he started as an assistant director in the Telugu-Tamil Film Pathala Bhairavi (1951). In 1965, Viswanath debuted as a director with Telugu film Aatma Gowravam (1965), which won the Nandi Award for Best Feature Film of the year. Viswanath followed it up with drama films Chelleli Kapuram (1971), Sarada (1973), O Seeta Katha (1974) and Jeevana Jyoti (1975) which are women-centric films.^[3][4] It was in Siri Siri Muvva (1976) that the artistic touch in his craft first became visible.^[3][4]

Sankarabharanam (1980) highlights the neglect of traditional Indian music under the increasing influence of western music. The film brings out the grandeur of Carnatic music, the traditional South Indian music towards the end. Bhaskaran, a media and film researcher from Chennai has documented, in his study of South Indian music culture, how Sankarabharanam contributed to the revival of Carnatic music in a big way.^[34] The film broke many commercial records by running for over one year in cinemas. In a recent study published in Journal of Dance, Movements & Spiritualities published by "Intellect Group" of the United Kingdom, C. S. H. N. Murthy, a media and film studies scholar from India, has demonstrated how Viswanath's filmography embraces a wide spectrum of characters that include mentally and physically challenged subjects as well, like the film Sarada (1973), which exploits a psychologically deranged woman, Swathi Muthyam (1986), which exploits an autistic man's humanism, Sirivennela (1986) which revels in situations between deaf and dumb characters, and Kalam Marindi (1972), which dwells on characters stuck in a caste-based society.^[3][4]

Film researcher, C. S. H. N. Murthy observed that Viswanath's films offer a pathway towards inclusiveness, affecting positive spiritual change at both personal and social levels. Situating the content in the broad arena of de-westernizing media studies, through immersive and culturally embedded perspectives, Murthy endeavoured to offer modern and postmodern dimensions in Viswanath's films.^[3][4]

Viswanath has made many films dealing with a wide range of human and social issues: Saptapadi, Sirivennela, Sutradharulu, Subhalekha, Sruthilayalu, Subha Sankalpam, Aapadbandhavudu, Swayam Krushi, and Swarnakamalam have lead characters representing different strata of society, meticulously etched to suit the larger picture.^[3][4]

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 labor. In Subhalekha, he deals, in a humorous way, with the dowry system – one of the major evils in today's society. 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.^[3][4]

In spite of the nature of these subjects, they are presented in a subtle manner with an imaginative storyline, with just the right amount of emphasis on the intended message. Yet Viswanath's 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.^[3][4]

Edida Nageswara Rao founded "Poornodaya Movie Creations", which encouraged Viswanath to make aesthetic films.^[35][36][25] Poornodaya has produced several of Viswanath's films like Sankarabharanam, Swatimutyam, Saagarasangamam, Sutradharulu, and Aapadbandhavudu. Most of these films were dubbed into Russian and were screened at the Moscow Film Festival.^[35][36][37]

Viswanath has also directed Hindi language films such as Sargam (1979), Kaamchor (1982), Shubh Kaamna (1983), Jaag Utha Insan (1984), Sur Sangam (1985), Sanjog (1985), Eeshwar (1989), Sangeet (1992) and Dhanwan (1993). Some of these films (especially his collaboration with actress Jaya Prada) have been super hits at the box office.^[38]

In 1995, Viswanath debuted as an actor with Telugu film Subha Sankalpam. As a character actor, he has appeared in works such as Vajram (1995), Kalisundam Raa (2000), Narasimha Naidu (2001), Nuvvu Leka Nenu Lenu (2002), Santosham (2002), Seema Simham (2002), Tagore (2003), Lakshmi Narasimha (2004), Swarabhishekam (2004), Aadavari Matalaku Arthale Verule (2007), Athadu (2005), and Pandurangadu (2008), and Devasthanam (2012). He essayed characters in Tamil works such as Kuruthipunal (1995), Mugavaree (1999), Kakkai Siraginilae (2000), Bagavathi (2002), Pudhiya Geethai (2003), Yaaradi Nee Mohini (2008), Rajapattai (2011), Singam II (2013), Lingaa (2014) and Uttama Villain (2015).^[9]

Viswanath had also acted in a few television serials; Siva Narayana Teertha on SVBC TV, Chellamay on Sun TV, and Suryiavamsam on Vendhar TV. He also endorsed brands such as GRT Jewellers and appeared in television commercials.^[39]

Viswadarshanam is an official biopic of K Viswanath, written and directed by Janardhana Maharshi, which tells the story of a 90-year-old acclaimed director.^[40] The film was telecast on ETV (Telugu) on 19 February 2023, his 93rd birthday.^[41]

Viswanath was married to Kasinadhuni Jayalakshmi. Actor Chandra Mohan, and singers S. P. Balasubrahmanyam and S. P. Sailaja were his cousins.^[42]

Viswanath passed away on 2 February 2023, aged 93, in a private hospital in Hyderabad due to age-related issues.^[43][44][45]

Honorary doctorate

• Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kasinathuni Viswanath.

• K. Viswanath at IMDb