Singeetham Srinivasa Rao, 94, died in Chennai after months of illness. His final film, Sing Geetham, released in June 2026. He directed over 60 films across five languages. Known for Aditya 369, Pushpaka Vimana, and collaborations with Kamal Haasan.
Singeetham Srinivasa Rao is dead. The 94-year-old filmmaker, a man who spent six decades pushing Indian cinema beyond its comfort zones, passed away Saturday night at Kauvery Hospital in Chennai. His death follows months of declining health, the result of age-related ailments that had kept him under treatment for some time.
He was born on September 21, 1931, in Gudur, Andhra Pradesh, and began his career as an assistant to K.V. Reddy — working on Mayabazar, one of Telugu cinema’s most iconic films. That early apprenticeship shaped a lifetime of bold choices. By 1972, he’d made his directorial debut with Neethi Nijayithi.
But it was what came after that cemented his legacy. From Pushpaka Vimana, a silent film told entirely through visuals. To Aditya 369, which introduced time travel to Telugu cinema, Singeetham didn’t just make movies. He redefined what they could be.
His collaborations with Kamal Haasan were particularly transformative: Raja Paarvai, Michael Madana Kama Rajan, Apoorva Sahodarulu, each a genre-bending experiment. He worked across five languages. Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi, and directed over 60 films. Awards followed: National Film Awards (including Best Feature Film in Tamil for Dikkatra Parvathi), Nandi Awards, Karnataka State Film Awards, Filmfare South.
Even in his 90s, he wasn’t done. His final film, Sing Geetham, produced by Nag Ashwin, released in June 2026. A project he’d carried for nearly four decades. It arrived just months before his passing.
Tributes poured in from NTR, Devi Sri Prasad, and countless others across industries. Some called him a visionary. Others remembered him as a restless mind who never stopped asking “What if?” One thing remains certain: the last film he directed was not a farewell. It was another question.
And now, no one will answer it.
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