RIP R R Venkat: An important part of Telugu cinema

Venkat had produced films such as 'Businessman' and 'Kick'

Noted producer R R Venkat passed away in Hyderabad on Monday because of kidney-related issues, leaving movie buffs heartbroken. He was 54. Venkat began his Bollywood career with the Hindi with Ek Hasina Thi, which hit the screens in 2004 and attained cult status. The thriller was directed by Sriram Raghavan and featured Urmila Matondkar and Saif Ali Khan in the lead. His second Bollywood film James, however, proved to be a complete failure.

He subsequently backed the English-language movie Divorce Invitation, an adaptation of Ahvaanam. Venkat, who began his Tollywood career with Andhrawala, eventually made an impact in Telugu cinema with the 2009 release Kick, which featured Ravi Teja in the lead. The film had an engaging storyline and emerged as a big hit. He continued his association with the 'Mass Maharaja' by backing his films Mirapakay and Don Seenu, which became reasonably popular with the mass audience. It was, however, the Mahesh Babu-starrer Businessman that proved to be a gamechanger for the man behind R R Movie Makers. The actioner was directed by Puri Jagannadh and revolved around the journey of a South Indian don based in Mumbai. It emerged as a massive hit at the box office with critics describing it as one of the finest mass movies of Prince's career. The cast included Kajal Aggarwal, Nassar, Raza Murad and Prakash Raj.

He backed the fantasy drama Damarukam, starring Nagarjuna, which received favourable reviews with critics praising Nag's performance. It was directed by Srinivasa Reddy and starred Anushka Shetty as the leading lady. He served as 'presenter' for the 2014 release Autonagar Surya, starring Naga Chaitanya, and continued his association with the Akkineni family He was also associated with the Nani-starrer Paisa, which catered to those fond of actioners.

He maintained a low profile in his personal life and refrained from making too many public appearances.

Tollywood stars tweeted their condolences to his family and described his death as a big loss for the film industry.