Kasinathuni Viswanath, Indian actor, director, and screenwriter
Kasinadhuni Viswanath (born 19 February 1930) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and actor known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema. He is recipient of five National Film Awards, seven state Nandi Awards, ten Filmfare Awards South, and a Filmfare Award in Hindi. In 1992, he received the Andhra Pradesh state Raghupathi Venkaiah Award, and the civilian honor Padma Shri for his contribution to the field of arts. He was awarded the 2017 Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest award in Indian cinema, at the 64th National Film Awards.Viswanath started his film career as an audiographer and in sixty years, he has directed fifty three feature films in a variety of genres, including films based on performing arts, visual arts, and aesthetics. He received international recognition for his works, and is known for blending parallel cinema with mainstream commercial cinema. Viswanath's filmography is known for addressing the issues of caste, colour, disability, gender discrimination, misogyny, alcoholism and socio-economic challenges through liberal arts medium. He was honored with the "Prize of the Public" at the "Besançon Film Festival of France" in the year 1981.His directorial works which are produced by Poornodaya Movie Creations were screened to special mention at the Moscow International Film Festival; such films were dubbed into Russian language and have been theatrically released in Moscow.