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Ramoji Rao, the versatile genius who revolutionised the media industry, passed away in Hyderabad on Saturday morning at the age of 87.
A versatile genius, Rao’s work is unparalleled across various fields, including media, films, hospitality, food and retail store chain. In 2016, he was honoured with Padma Bhushan, India’s second-highest civilian honour, for his contribution to journalism, literature and education.
The political and social history of Andhra Pradesh in the last five decades would be incomplete without a mention of Rao’s role and relevance. In many fields, his innovation and enterprise have taken the region to greater heights. The firms founded by him — Eenadu newspaper, the largest circulated Telugu daily, ETV channels, Ramoji Film City, said to be the world’s largest, Dolphin group of hotels, Margadarsi Chit Fund, film production company Ushakiran movies, Priya Foods and others — provided jobs to thousands and continue to impact the lives of millions in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and elsewhere.
Newspaper revolution
Born on November 16, 1936 in Pedaparupudi of Krishna district in Andhra Pradesh, Rao’s rise from humble beginnings is legendary. He ventured into the media sector with the launch of ‘Annadata’, a magazine for peasants, in 1969. Before that, he was an advertising professional and owned Priya Pickles.
In 1974, he launched the Eenadu daily, which revolutionised the newspaper industry in undivided Andhra Pradesh and became the number one choice of Telugu readers in the next few years.
Senior journalist Mulugu Somasekhar said the Eenadu Group chairman introduced several firsts in Telugu media such as colour printing of newspapers, district editions, engaging stringers and contributors at Mandal level and using novel methods to reach remote areas by engaging RTC bus conductors to deliver newspapers there. He was also the one to introduce hyper-local tabloid editions.
Rao was the first to demonstrate the power of a newspaper by wholly backing a political party — Telugu Desam — and contributing to its victory in 1983. After N T Rama Rao came to power (in 1983), 80 per cent of the paper was balanced and critical of the government. The paper was highly professional,” Somasekhar said.
Foray into films
Rao forayed into bankrolling films under Usha Kiran Movies. He produced over 50 films, started film distribution under Mayuri Film Distributors, launched the ETV network of TV channels in multiple languages, started an English daily — NewsTime — and also started Eenadu School of Journalism. He had to wind up NewsTime in the latter half of the 2000s, probably his only failure in the media business.
“His production ‘Mayuri’, which won actress Sudha Chandran a national award in 1985, was a story picked up from a news report about a girl who used a Jaipur foot to learn dancing… It shows how keen an eye he (Rao) had to pick up a news story and convert it to a feature film and get the national award,” said Somasekhar.
Source: Ramoji Rao, the versatile genius who revolutionised media industry, passes away at 87