<p>Renowned Telugu filmmaker Sattiraju Lakshmi Narayana aka Bapu died here at his residence Sunday, his family said. He was 80.<br /><br /></p>.<p>"He passed away following a cardiac arrest. He was struggling with illness for the last few months," Bapu's brother Sattiraju Shankar Narayana told IANS.<br /><br />Born Dec 15, 1933, Bapu started his career as a cartoonist for Telugu newspaper Andhra Patrika.<br /><br />His filmmaking career started with 1960 Telugu film "Sakshi", whose story and dialogues were by his best friend Mullapudi Venkata Ramana.<br /><br />Bapu and Ramana worked together in several memorable Telugu films such as "Mutyala Muggu", "Mister Pellam", "Pelli Pusthakam" and "Seetha Kalyanam".<br /><br />An ardent devotee of Lord Ram, Bapu's stories were mostly inspired from the Ramayana.<br /><br />Some of his best films on Lord Ram include "Sampoorna Ramayanam", "Ramanjeneya Yuddham" and "Seetha Kalyanam".<br /><br />Bapu's last directorial was 2011 Telugu mythological drama "Sri Rama Rajyam". Ramana passed away a few months after the film's release.<br /><br />Since Ramana's demise, Bapu was not in his pink of health.<br /><br />"The death of Ramana came as a shock to my brother. He was shaken from the inside because it was the end of over 60 years of friendship," Bapu's brother said.<br /><br />Bapu had also directed a few Hindi films such as "Hum Paanch", "Seeta Swayamwar", "Woh Saat Din" and "Mera Dharam".<br /><br />In his over four-decade-long career, Bapu directed 51 films. He was honoured with the Padma Shri in 2013.<br /><br />He won the national awards twice and the Andhra Pradesh state Nandi Awards six times.<br />Bapu is survived by two sons and a daughter.<br /><br />His last rites will be performed here Monday.</p>
<p>Renowned Telugu filmmaker Sattiraju Lakshmi Narayana aka Bapu died here at his residence Sunday, his family said. He was 80.<br /><br /></p>.<p>"He passed away following a cardiac arrest. He was struggling with illness for the last few months," Bapu's brother Sattiraju Shankar Narayana told IANS.<br /><br />Born Dec 15, 1933, Bapu started his career as a cartoonist for Telugu newspaper Andhra Patrika.<br /><br />His filmmaking career started with 1960 Telugu film "Sakshi", whose story and dialogues were by his best friend Mullapudi Venkata Ramana.<br /><br />Bapu and Ramana worked together in several memorable Telugu films such as "Mutyala Muggu", "Mister Pellam", "Pelli Pusthakam" and "Seetha Kalyanam".<br /><br />An ardent devotee of Lord Ram, Bapu's stories were mostly inspired from the Ramayana.<br /><br />Some of his best films on Lord Ram include "Sampoorna Ramayanam", "Ramanjeneya Yuddham" and "Seetha Kalyanam".<br /><br />Bapu's last directorial was 2011 Telugu mythological drama "Sri Rama Rajyam". Ramana passed away a few months after the film's release.<br /><br />Since Ramana's demise, Bapu was not in his pink of health.<br /><br />"The death of Ramana came as a shock to my brother. He was shaken from the inside because it was the end of over 60 years of friendship," Bapu's brother said.<br /><br />Bapu had also directed a few Hindi films such as "Hum Paanch", "Seeta Swayamwar", "Woh Saat Din" and "Mera Dharam".<br /><br />In his over four-decade-long career, Bapu directed 51 films. He was honoured with the Padma Shri in 2013.<br /><br />He won the national awards twice and the Andhra Pradesh state Nandi Awards six times.<br />Bapu is survived by two sons and a daughter.<br /><br />His last rites will be performed here Monday.</p>