With Malayalam superstar *Mohanlal* recently chosen for the *Dadasaheb Phalke Award*, attention has turned to the Telugu greats who received this prestigious honor in the past.
The first Telugu recipient was *B.N. Reddy* in *1974, becoming the first person from South India to win the award. He was followed by **L.V. Prasad* in *1982, celebrated for his contributions as a filmmaker and producer. In **1986, legendary director **B. Nagi Reddy* received the honor.
The award was then bestowed on the iconic actor *Akkineni Nageswara Rao (ANR)* in *1990, recognizing his timeless impact on Indian cinema. Later, in **2009, music maestro **Dr. K. Viswanath* was honored, followed by veteran actor *K. Balachander* in *2016*, though he was predominantly associated with Tamil cinema but had close Telugu ties.
Along with these Telugu stalwarts, other South Indian legends like *Ravikant Nagaich, K. Balachander, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Shivaji Ganesan, and Rajkumar* have also been recipients.
This proud legacy reflects Telugu cinema’s deep influence on Indian film history.
