Hyderabad: Tollywood renowned Director K Viswanath (92) passes away on Thursday night at Apollo Hospital in Hyderabad. He was not well for some time and was also suffering from age-related issues.

He was born at Peddaparu village in Bapatla district in February 1930 in Andhra Pradesh. He was the 48^th recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke award in 2016. He started his journey in Tollywood as a sound recording engineer.

He directed his first film Atma Gouravam starring with Nageshwara Rao and others in 1965. He directed award-winning films such as Sankarabharanam, Sagara Sangamam, Swati Mutyam, Saptapadi, Kaamchor, Sanjog and Jaag Utha Insaan in his long career that included an equally successful stint in front of the camera.

He received Padma Shri award in 1992, five National Awards, 20 Nandi Awards (given by the Andhra Pradesh government) and 10 Filmfare trophies including the Lifetime Achievement award. He directed more than 50 movies and won Nandi award for his first film. He had also directed movies in Tamil and Hindi cinema.

Viswanath also acted in movies Swarabhishekam (which he directed as well), Pandurangadu, Narasimha Naidu, Lakshmi Narasimha and Seemasimham, Kuruthipunal, Kakkai Siraginilae and Bagavathi, among others.