Departures of note

Singeetham Srinivasa Rao was an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer, composer and actor, widely regarded as one of India's most versatile and innovative filmmakers. Over a career spanning more than five decades he directed around sixty films across Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Hindi and English, beginning as an assistant to K. V. Reddy on classics such as Mayabazar before making his directorial debut with Neethi Nijayithi in 1972. He won two National Film Awards, five Nandi Awards, three Karnataka State Film Awards and three Filmfare Awards South, and received a Life Achievement Award from the Film Federation of India in 2011. His landmark works include the dance biopic Mayuri, the dialogue-less Pushpaka Vimana, the science-fiction film Aditya 369, and the fantasy Bhairava Dweepam. He was especially noted for his collaborations with actors Rajkumar and Kamal Haasan, directing Rajkumar in seven Kannada films and Kamal Haasan in films such as Raja Paarvai, Apoorva Sagodharargal and Michael Madana Kama Rajan. He returned to directing in 2026 with the musical fantasy Sing Geetham, released months before his death in Chennai on 3 October 2026 at the age of 95.