Singeetham Srinivasa Rao, the veteran filmmaker from Gudur, is awaiting the release of his 61st directorial Sing Geetham at the age of 94.
With this feat, he has matched the record associated with Hollywood filmmaker Clint Eastwood, who directed Juror No. 2 at 93, with its release at 94.
Born in 1931, Singeetham Srinivasa Rao began his career in cinema as an assistant to K.V. Reddy, working on films including Mayabazar. Over a career spanning more than six decades, he directed around 60 films across Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Hindi and English.
His work covers a wide range of genres, including social drama, comedy, folklore, fantasy and science fiction, often shifting between formats rather than repeating a fixed style.
His 1985 biographical film Mayuri, based on the life of classical dancer Sudha Chandran, received significant critical attention and multiple state awards. In 1987, he directed Pushpaka Vimana, a dialogue-free film starring Kamal Haasan, which was acclaimed for its visual storytelling and later screened at international festivals, including Cannes Critics’ Week.
He followed this with Apoorva Sagodharargal, a mainstream film built around a protagonist with dwarfism, and Aditya 369, a time-travel narrative that was once of the earliest science-fiction films in Telugu mainstream cinema.
Singeetham also worked extensively with Kannada star Rajkumar on multiple films that performed well commercially and were remade in other languages.
Rao’s last released film was Welcome Obama (2013), after which he stepped away from active directing for more than a decade.
He is now returning with Sing Geetham, produced by Vyjayanthi Movies and Swapna Cinema. The film features newer actors Ahilya Bamroo, Shalini Kondepudi, Agu Stanley Chiedozie. The music has been composed by Devi Sri Prasad.
The official logline of the film reads, “In an isolated village, young Prathap seeks opportunity but enters a world of deception. Drawn into uncontrollable forces, he's caught between progress and preservation, testing his beliefs and purpose”.
Sing Geetham is scheduled for worldwide release on June 11.