<p>Ranga was 93 years old and is survived by his wife Shyamala Devi and three sons, Vasanth, Ramkumar and Krishnakumar. <br /><br />“My father died all too suddenly, mainly due to old age; he had his breakfast this morning after which he collapsed,” the film maker’s son Vasanth told Deccan Herald in the evening. <br /><br />Ranga who had made Chennai his home long ago passed away around8:45 am, his son said. On hearing that his father was slightly ill, Vasanth rushed to the city from Bangalore but before he reached home the end had come. <br /><br />Starting his film career in Bombay (now Mumbai) in 1943 as a director of photography, Ranga got his initial training under ace cinematographer Krishna Gopal in that city. “Bhai Behen” and “Pardesi” are some of the films Ranga worked in.<br /><br />Ranga then came down to Madras (now Chennai) during 1944-45 and joined as Director of Photography (DoP) under the famous S S Vasan film banner, Vasanth recalled. He was DoP for over 40 films. <br /><br />Foraying into film direction alongside cinematography, Ranga made his first film in Telugu “Maa Gopi” in 1947-48, Vasanth said. Subsequently, he went on to direct and produce several films in Kannada, Telugu and Tamil. <br /><br />First colour feature<br /><br />Ranga is credited with having directed and produced the first Kannada film in colour, “Amarashilpi Jakanachari”, in 1966-67. Popular yesteryear heroine B Saroja Devi was paired opposite Kalyan Kumar in the film, while in the Telugu version she teamed up with Akkineni Nageshwar Rao.<br /><br />That film went on to win the President’s Award, Vasanth said. Ranga made “Nithya Thamboolam” in Tamil with veteran actor Sivaji Ganesan and “Pattikattu Ponnaiah” with “Makkal Thilagam” MGR. <br /><br />In all, Ranga directed and produced about 87 films in three South Indian languages, with a maximum of 18 films in Kannada alone starring the legendary Dr Rajkumar including ‘Mahishasura Mardini’ and ‘Kiladi Ranga’, Vasanth pointed out. <br /><br />Awards<br /><br />Winner of several awards for his contribution to the film industry, Ranga was conferred the ‘Putanna Kanagal Award’ in 1998-99, instituted by the Karnataka Government and the ‘Nandi Award’ of the Andhra Pradesh Government. The film industry here expressed deep grief at the passing away of Ranga. <br /></p>
<p>Ranga was 93 years old and is survived by his wife Shyamala Devi and three sons, Vasanth, Ramkumar and Krishnakumar. <br /><br />“My father died all too suddenly, mainly due to old age; he had his breakfast this morning after which he collapsed,” the film maker’s son Vasanth told Deccan Herald in the evening. <br /><br />Ranga who had made Chennai his home long ago passed away around8:45 am, his son said. On hearing that his father was slightly ill, Vasanth rushed to the city from Bangalore but before he reached home the end had come. <br /><br />Starting his film career in Bombay (now Mumbai) in 1943 as a director of photography, Ranga got his initial training under ace cinematographer Krishna Gopal in that city. “Bhai Behen” and “Pardesi” are some of the films Ranga worked in.<br /><br />Ranga then came down to Madras (now Chennai) during 1944-45 and joined as Director of Photography (DoP) under the famous S S Vasan film banner, Vasanth recalled. He was DoP for over 40 films. <br /><br />Foraying into film direction alongside cinematography, Ranga made his first film in Telugu “Maa Gopi” in 1947-48, Vasanth said. Subsequently, he went on to direct and produce several films in Kannada, Telugu and Tamil. <br /><br />First colour feature<br /><br />Ranga is credited with having directed and produced the first Kannada film in colour, “Amarashilpi Jakanachari”, in 1966-67. Popular yesteryear heroine B Saroja Devi was paired opposite Kalyan Kumar in the film, while in the Telugu version she teamed up with Akkineni Nageshwar Rao.<br /><br />That film went on to win the President’s Award, Vasanth said. Ranga made “Nithya Thamboolam” in Tamil with veteran actor Sivaji Ganesan and “Pattikattu Ponnaiah” with “Makkal Thilagam” MGR. <br /><br />In all, Ranga directed and produced about 87 films in three South Indian languages, with a maximum of 18 films in Kannada alone starring the legendary Dr Rajkumar including ‘Mahishasura Mardini’ and ‘Kiladi Ranga’, Vasanth pointed out. <br /><br />Awards<br /><br />Winner of several awards for his contribution to the film industry, Ranga was conferred the ‘Putanna Kanagal Award’ in 1998-99, instituted by the Karnataka Government and the ‘Nandi Award’ of the Andhra Pradesh Government. The film industry here expressed deep grief at the passing away of Ranga. <br /></p>