Telugu filmmaker Sagar, who rose to fame with films such as Amma Donga and Stuvartupuram Dongalu, died in the early hours of today at his residence in Chennai due to age-related ailments. He was 70.
Sagar made his directorial debut with Rakasiloya in 1983 and went on to direct nearly 35 films during his career. His breakthrough film, Stuvartpuram Dongalu, was a runaway success. Public Rowdy, Daadi, Nakshatra Poratam, Amma Donga, Bharatasimham, Ammanaakodalaa, Alumagalu, Jagadekaveerudu, Ramasakkanodu, and Anveshna are among his other popular films.
He had collaborated with popular 1990s actors such as Bhanu Chander, Suman, and even Krishna Ghattamaneni. Sagar had a long list of assistants, and some of them went on to become successful directors, including Srinu Vaitla, VV Vinayak, Ravi Kumar Chowdhary, and G Nageswara Reddy.
Reacting to the demise of his guru, Srinu Vaitla tweeted, “It is extremely painful to know that my guru Sagar garu is no more. He was very kind to all of his assistants and taught them a lot of valuable things. He was a great support to all of us. Sir Om Shanthi, you will be remembered forever.”
