Veteran Telugu director Bapu gets Padma Shri

Chennai: Veteran Telugu director Bapu aka Lakshmi Narayana Sathiraju has been named for Padma Shri on the eve of 64th Republic Day.

The 79-year-old, commonly known by the name Bapu in the industry, debuted as a director with 1967 Telugu film "Sakshi", which featured Telugu superstar Krishna. In a career spanning over four decades, he has directed many Telugu films such as "Pelli Pusthakam", "Mr. Pellam", "Muthyala Muggu" and "Sri Ramarajyam". Five of his Telugu films have won National Awards. He made films in Hindi too - "Woh Saat Din", "Mohabbat" and "Pyaari Behna" among many more. An artist by profession, Bapu is the pen name he earned for his artistic work in Telugu. He started his career as an artist in a Telugu newspaper. The last film of the director was "Sri Rama Rajyam", which released in 2011 starring Nandamuri Balakrishna, Nayanthara and Meka Srikanth in the roles of Lord Rama, Goddess Sita and Lakshman respectively. IANS