The Hindu : An irreparable loss: Kalam

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Feb 26, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

An irreparable loss: Kalam

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI, FEB. 25. Leaders, film personalities and people from different walks of life paid rich tributes to B. Nagi Reddi, a doyen of the film industry, who passed away today.

In a condolence message to his family members, the President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, said the death of Mr. Reddi was an irreparable loss.

Expressing shock at the death of Mr. Reddi, the Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, said his passing away was a matter of grief not only to the south Indian film industry but also to thousands of people in different walks of life.

"We have lost a great filmmaker, humanist, an institution and a phenomenon," she said in a statement.

Mr. Reddi was a multifaceted genius and creator of innumerable hit films. He established Vijaya Colour Laboratories and Vijaya Vauhini Studios, the backbone of the south Indian film industry.

He was a recipient of the Dada Saheb Phalke Award and creator of Chandamama magazine — a household name — as also of the Vijaya Hospital, Ms. Jayalalithaa noted.

`A pillar of the industry'

Producers and senior members of the film fraternity condoled with the death of Mr. Reddi, at a meeting organised by the South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce, here.

Speakers hailed Mr. Reddi as one of the pillars of the Tamil film industry along side S.S. Vasan and A.V. Meiyappa Chettiar. They paid tribute to Mr. Reddi for his contribution both as a producer and administrator of the Vijaya Vauhini Studio.

Those who spoke included Rm. Veerappan, A.V.M. Saravanan, Chintamani Murugesan and Chitra Lakshmanan.

Mr. Saravanan said more than as a successful producer, Mr. Reddi would be remembered for his compassion.

Mukta Srinivasan, producer, said Mr. Reddi's movies never had any crass commercial element. "He always upheld the culture and tradition of the country in his movies," he pointed out.

A few speakers recalled Mr. Reddi's commitment to Tamil cinema, though he had several offers to go in for Telugu movies. The chamber representatives also paid tributes to him for being their president for four terms — 1959-60, 1964-65, 1965-66 and 1972-73. He was president of the Film Federation of India for two terms and also served as chairman of the chamber's Institute for Film Acting, which produced leading actors including Rajnikant and Chiranjeevi.

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