Padmavibhushan Dr Akkineni Nageswara Rao (20 September 1924 – 22 January 2014), widely known as ANR, was an Indian film actor and producer, known for his work predominantly in Telugu cinema. He starred in many landmark films in his seventy five-year careers, becoming one of the most prominent figures in the history of Indian cinema.
He is considered one of the greatest and most successful actors of Indian cinema and one of the two pillars of Telugu Cinema, along with N.T.Rama Rao. He was one of the instrumental figures in moving the Telugu cinema industry from Madras to Hyderabad in the early 1960s.
He established Annapurna Studios in 1975 to provide infrastructural support to the Telugu film industry in Hyderabad. He later started the Annapurna International School of Film and Media within Annapurna Studios in 2011.
