Background
Venkaiah Naidu was the second son of an Indian Army official Subedar Appayya Naidu in Machilipatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India.
Venkaiah Naidu was the second son of an Indian Army official Subedar Appayya Naidu in Machilipatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India.
Naidu was a pioneer in the production of silent Indian films and talkies. Starting in 1909, he was involved in many aspects of Indian cinema"s history, like travelling to different regions in Asia to promote film work. He was the first to build and own cinema halls in Madras.
The Raghupati Venkaiah Award is an annual award incorporated into Nandi Awards to recognize people for their contributions to the Telugu film industry.
At the age of 18, he moved to Madras and started drawing pictures and carving sculptures at Mount Road and selling them. He then learned photography and started a photo studio.
Theatre owner In 1910, he established Esplanade Ten House to exhibit his films. In 1912, he constructed Gaiety Talkies on Mount Road, the first Indian-owned cinema theatre in Chennai.
He later constructed Crown Theatre on Mint Street and Globe Theatre in Parasuwakka, Chennai.
He also exhibited American and British films. Some of the first movies shown in his theatres were Million Dollar Mystery, Mysteries of Meera, Clutching Hand, Broken Coin, Raja"s casket, Peral fish, and "Great Bard". Film producer In 1919, he started a production company called Star of East Films and a film studio called Glass Studio.
Later, they produced films like Gajendra Moksham, Mathsyavatharam, Nandanaar, and Bhishma Pratigna, the first Telugu mookie (ie, movie with no playback voices).
Later career In 1929, he was forced to sell his properties to pay off his debts. The Andhra Pradesh state government established the Raghupati Venkaiah Naidu Award, later changed to Raghupathi Venkaiah Award for lifetime contributors to the Telugu movie industry.