Legendary Indian director Singeetam Srinivasa Rao, the master of experimentation in cinema, dies aged 94

CHENNAI, 4 October – Legendary Indian director Singeetam Srinivasa Rao died on Saturday, 3 October 2026, aged 94, at Kauvery Hospital in Chennai, where he was being treated for age-related illnesses, as Filmfare reports. News of the death of the master of Indian cinema was reported by Indian media on 3 and 4 October, sparking a wave of grief across the film industry.

Singeetam Srinivasa Rao was born on 21 September 1931 in Gudur, in Andhra Pradesh, and began his path in cinema as an assistant to the great director K. V. Reddy, working on the set of the timeless classic “Mayabazar” (1957). His directorial debut came in 1972 with the Telugu film “Neethi Nijayithi”, and from then on he did not stop for more than six decades.

During his extraordinary career, he directed around 60 films in five languages – Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Hindi and English – bringing the same mastery to comedy, science fiction, fantasy and social drama. His name remains closely linked with masterpieces such as the silent black-and-white comedy “Pushpaka Vimana” (1987), starring Kamal Haasan, which won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film, the time-travel adventure “Aditya 369” and the touching drama “Mayuri” (1985). With Kamal Haasan he also made the cult comedies “Apoorva Sagodharargal” and “Michael Madana Kama Rajan”, while he also collaborated with the Kannada cinema star Rajkumar. His drama “Dikkatra Parvathi” (1974) won the National Film Award for Best Film in Tamil, and in 2011 the Film Federation of India honoured him with its Lifetime Achievement Award.

What made him unique was his undimmed passion for experimentation: even in his 90s he never left the camera. His last film, “Sing Geetham”, the 61st of his directing career, was produced by “Kalki 2898 AD” director Nag Ashwin and was released in cinemas in June 2026, just months before his death.

Tributes from the world of cinema have not been lacking. Actor Jr NTR wrote that with “Aditya 369”, “Pushpaka Vimana” and “Mayuri” the director’s thoughts were always far ahead of their time, expressing his condolences to his family. Condolences and words of gratitude for the master were also expressed by the production company Vyjayanthi Movies and actor Manchu Vishnu, while colleagues and admirers remember him as the visionary who gave Indian cinema the courage to dream differently.