Singeetam Srinivasa Rao worked across multiple languages during six decades.
Kamal Haasan recalled their acclaimed collaborations and Singeetam’s youthful spirit.
SS Rajamouli praised his imagination, innovation and influence on Telugu cinema.
Singeetam Srinivasa Rao’s death has led to an outpouring of tributes from the Tamil and Telugu film industries. The veteran filmmaker, screenwriter and composer died at 94, leaving behind a career spanning more than six decades and several Indian languages. Kamal Haasan, SS Rajamouli and Mahesh Babu were among those who remembered his contribution to cinema.
Kamal Haasan remembers Singeetam Srinivasa Rao
Kamal Haasan, who worked with Singeetam on films including Apoorva Sagodharargal and Michael Madana Kama Rajan, shared an emotional tribute on X. Singeetam was remembered by him as a filmmaker who retained his youthful spirit until the end.
“Singeetam Karu, according to his own wishes, in his youth, breathed his last along with his youth. His youth did not spread to many. In the desire that that quality should spread, among the friends he held by the hand and walked with, among the disciples I am one. - Kamal Haasan.”
He added, “Dying young need not be a tragedy. It can be glorious. Singeetham Srinivasa Rao is a great example. I have admired him since I knew him. Now I aspire to live as he did.”
SS Rajamouli, Mahesh Babu pay tribute
SS Rajamouli praised Singeetam’s ability to push boundaries even when filmmaking technology and budgets were limited. He wrote on X, “Long before we had the tools or the budgets, he dared to dream bigger than anyone around him. He made a film without a single line of dialogue, took us travelling through time, and moved from comedy to fantasy to deeply human drama as if no line existed between genres.
He showed a whole generation of us that the only real limit in cinema is imagination. Every filmmaker who has tried something different in Telugu cinema owes him something, knowingly or not. I certainly do. My deepest condolences to Singeetham Srinivasa Rao garu’s family. Om Shanti.”
Mahesh Babu described him as “a giant of Indian cinema” and praised his extraordinary imagination, courage and brilliance.
Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy also called Singeetam a “true pioneer”, highlighting his creativity across genres and his continued work at 94.
Singeetam's best-known films include Mayuri, Pushpaka Vimanam and Aditya 369. His dialogue-free Pushpaka Vimanam won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment, while Aditya 369 became a landmark Telugu science-fiction film.
Singeetam Srinivasa Rao died on Saturday at the age of 94.
