Amitabh Hails Nagarjuna for Carrying ANR’s Legacy

Legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan is in town to attend the ANR National Award event as chief guest and heaped praises on the Akkineni Family. "I remember a poem from my dad. He said that being born as a son is not enough and anyone who carries dad's legacy is a true inheritor. I am proud of Nagarjuna for carrying the legacy of legendary Akkineni Nageshwara Rao who was a colossus and walked on this earth," he said. He was the earlier recipient of the ANR award. "I am privileged to be here among this august gathering and honor my friend Chiranjeevi with this coveted award," he added.

In his speech, Nagarjuna who organized this whole event and revived the ANR National Award to keep memories of his father and legendary actor ANR alive and kicking, said. "Both Amitabh and Chiranjeevi are legends in their way. We are happy that one legend handing over an award to another legend,' he adds He claims that he called up Amitabh Bachchan after watching his sterling performance in 'Kalki 2898' as Ashwadhama. "I told him that my favorite angry young man was back and roaring since I loved his acting image in his heydays," he adds.

After receiving the award, megastar Chiranjeevi said, "Amitabh Bachchan has been my guru, inspiration, and mentor and I keenly admired his body of work". Talking about legendary ANR, he added, "ANR Garu once told me that he introduced dancing in movies but I added grace and style to dancing and I cherish his invaluable words," he informs.

The function started with a dance ballet with chartbusters of ANR movies and was followed by an AV(audio visual) presentation of ANR and his immense contribution to Indian cinema. He was hailed as a visionary who played a significant role in shifting the Telugu film industry from Madras to Hyderabad. "He built Annapoorna studios on rocky terrain in Banjara Hills and used to actively participate in the construction work. He realized that infrastructure is key for industry development and today stands a swanky studio with 12 floors and post-production facilities and he is buzzing with activity," the AV concludes.

Other guests who graced the event include T Subbirami Reddy, K Raghavendra Rao, Allu Aravind, Ram Charan, and Venkatesh along with other dignitaries.