death_date birth_place imagesize family birth_date image article_title name occupation
15 march 1941 machilipatnam in andhra pradesh , india -rrb- , madras presidency , british india -lrb- now 200px devika -lrb- granddaughter -rrb- 15 october 1887 raghupati venkayya.jpg raghupathi venkaiah naidu
 raghupati venkaiah naidu film director , film producer
raghupathi venkaiah naidu

raghupati venkaiah naidu -lrb- -rrb- -lrb- 15 october 1887 -- 15 march 1941 -rrb- known widely as the father of telugu cinema was an indian artist and film maker .
naidu was a pioneer in the production of silent indian films and talkies .
starting from 1909 , he was involved in many aspects of indian cinemas history , like travelling to different regions in asia , to promote film work .
he was the first to build and own cinema hall 's in madras .
the raghupati venkaiah award is an annual award incorporated into nandi awards to recognize people for their contributions to the telugu film industry .
