Publicity-shy media visionary
Cherukuri Ramoji Rao was born on 16 November 1936 in Pattaparupudu of Krishna District, Madras Presidency in an agricultural family of poor means and his early life was a bitter struggle as the family had to go to great lengths to keep the wolf from the door.
Ramoji had his formal education and then shifted to Delhi where he worked as an artist in an advertising firm. However, his entrepreneurial instincts soon surfaced and the first venture that he set up on his own was the Margaradarasi Chit Fund in 1974 which even today stands tall as one of the biggest firms in the business. He also developed an abiding interest in the media business and started his own newspaper ‘Eenadu’ in Telugu which scaled great heights and was the number one newspaper in the composite Andhra State.
Ramoji Rao who sensed the growth of TV quite early also launched a whole basket of channels under the name ETV. Eventually most of these channels were acquired by Reliance though Rao retained the Telugu channels.
Atthough Ramoji Rao remained apolitical right through his life, he was instrumental in the rise of the late chief minister N T Rama Rao (NTR) who had floated the Telugu Desam Party. Rao used the reach of his publications to ensure the defeat of the Congress party and a runaway victory of the TDP. Later he would throw in his weight behind NTR’s son in law Chandrababu Naidu. He had a long rivalry with Congress leader Rajasekhara Reddy who died in a plane crash while still the CM of Andhra Pradesh. The rivalry however continued after Reddy’s son Jaganmohan Reddy took office as CM of Andhra now no longer a composite state after the bifurcation of the State into Andhra and Telangana.
But the media was not the only vocation for Ramoji Rao who branched out into film production under his banner ‘Usha Kiron Movies’ and the company produced several blockbuster movies including ‘Mayuri’ which featured an amputee Sudha Chandran in the title role. His production ‘Nuvve Kavali’ won a National Award and Rao was also the recipient of several Filmfare and Nandi awards as well.
Rao’s claim to fame really centred around the construction of the world’s biggest film making facility, Ramoji Film City on the outskirts of Hyderabad. Stretching across 2000 acres, Ramoji Film City has found a mention in the Guinness Book of World Records. Many mega budget films including ‘Bahubali’, ‘RRR’ etc., have been shot in Ramoji Film City and the studio is a one stop film making facility for the film industry. A visit to the facility is a jaw dropping experience as the opulent sets, the verdant green atmosphere and the gadgets installed are all world class.
Rao also ventured into the fast-moving consumer goods business with ‘Priya Foods’ and ‘Ushodaya Foods and Beverages’ which continues to be in great success across the country. He also served as Chairman of the Dolphin Group of Hotels and Kalanjali. A recipient of several awards and honours Ramoji Rao was also the recipient of the Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian honour awarded by the Government next only to the Bharat Ratna.
The media baron never believed in hogging the limelight and was also known to be extremely publicity shy and though he was an integral part of the print and visual media seldom gave interviews. Rao passed away on 8 June 2024 at the age of 87 and the media lost one of the main votaries for press freedom who never fought shy of taking on the establishment. A workaholic to the core, Rao remained active and committed to his various interests till his last breath.
C.V. Aravind is a Bangalore-based freelance journalist.