Lights! Camera! Action! These are the three words Kodi Ramakrishna lived by, his whole life. With more than 100 movies to his credit, some of which went on to be the biggest blockbusters in the Telugu film industry. Some of his most noted and appreciated works are Devullu, Ammoru and Ankusam.

Though he was a well known actor, director and film personality, very few people knew him personally as he kept his professional and personal life separate. His signature white on white attire, a headband, many threads tied around his wrist and his ever ready attitude took him to great heights and made him one of the most noted directors in Telugu cinema.

Here are some lesser known facts about Kodi Ramakrishna:

• On November 15th, 1993, a plane took off from Hyderabad to Tirupathi bearing eminent and most noted film personalities. Chiranjeevi, Allu Aravind, Vijayashanti, Kodi Ramakrishna and many others were traveling on this flight. This plane crashed in the fields of Tirupathi creating a sensation all over Andhra Pradesh. Though none of  the passengers were injured, it scared most of them. One of them was Kodi Ramakrishna. He refused to travel by flight from then onward and preferred to travel by road or train.

• He is one of the richest directors in Telugu film industry. Even then, he chooses to spend his money carefully and lived a simple life.

• Another noted director of the Telugu film industry, Dasari Narayana Rao hails from the same village as Kodi Ramakrishna, Pallakollu in Andhra Pradesh. Not only that, they both are theatre artists and share many common interests. Both these directors worked with K. Raghava under the banner of Pratap Arts and are very close associates.
  Kodi Ramakrishna is a very devotional person. He religiously visits temples very often and gave out many donations as well. On careful observation, his hands always bear religious threads which were tied during some or the other occasion.

• He is known as the Graphics Brahma as he was one of the first directors to use graphics effectively in movies. His movies Ammoru, Devullu, Anji and Devi Putrudu and many others bear the evidence of his graphics’ brilliance.

• He is a producer’s director. He tries to use the sets, costumes and locations effectively and tries to bring down the budget for the producer. There was one such instance when a huge set was erected for a birthday scene of a very wealthy man. The set itself cost the producer a heavy amount. However, there was more to take care of including junior artists, lighting and many such factors. Therefore, the producer and the production manager did not show up. When Ramakrishna got to know about this, he shot a scene where one junior artist and the lead actor are in conversation and closed the shot on the same day. He thinks from the producer’s point of view and that is why he is the producer’s favourite.

• He wears a headband all the time during every shoot. When someone asked about it, he stated, “Usually, people put themselves to work once they commit to something, I usually put my mind to work as to how best can I complete the job”.

• Kodi Ramakrishna is one of the few people who is ever ready and charged with energy all the time. Whether it is an interview, shoot or an event where he has to address a crowd, He just says,” Champeddam” which translates to Let’s kill it!

• He is a huge Akkineni Nageswara Rao fan and watched all his movies.

• He is one of the few people who won the Raghupati Venkaiah Award, which is awarded to only a few people who have majorly contributed to the Telugu film industry.

The star director and the audience favourite is no more. He breathed his last on the 22nd February, 2019. Kodi Ramakrishna was suffering from acute lung disease when he was admitted in the hospital. Though initial reports stated he was out of danger and would survive, things did not go as expected.  The Telugu Filmnagar, offer our deepest condolences to his family and friends.