These were followed by a few films like Chelleli Kapuram, Sarada, O Sitha Kadha and Jeevana Jyothi. To some extent the influence of his Guru is visible in some of these films. A notable exception is Sudigundalu, which he co-directed with Adurthi Subba Rao. Most of his films during this period were based on family stories, with a generous dose of sentiment, much in the same pattern of the films in 60's. His first film as an independent director was Atmagauravam. The earlier stages of his career saw Viswanath as an assistant to the veteran director, Adurthi Subba Rao. Since my knowledge related to some of his earliest films is limited, I shall mostly confine myself to his work starting from the seventies. This article is intended mainly to discuss the nature of some of his work and does not give any major facts or figures, historical or otherwise, related to his films. Many of them have been screened at various International Film Festivals and have been admired for their artistic and aesthetic values.
His films have won many national and state level awards for him as a director and his cast as well. With a judicious combination of artistic and commercial elements, he has created films that have appealed not only to the common cinema audience, but also to the more discerning and selective ones. Through his work, he has created some truly memorable films, that stand out as remarkable works of art, in the field of Telugu cinema. Viswanath, is one of the best directors the Telugu Film Industry has produced. One film maker, however, has won wide national acclaim for some of his films in our language. Though a few off beat films or "art films" have been made in Telugu, mostly by film makers from other languages, Telugu films have been predominantly commercial in nature. It has been criticized for pandering to the tastes of the mass audiences, with little regard for quality or standards, particularly so, in the past few years.
It has mostly confined itself to the elements of commerce in film making, rarely moving out of the beaten track. Notwithstanding all this, it has largely gone unnoticed at the national level, unlike the Assamese, Bengali, Hindi and Malyalam film industries which have produced many films that have won national and international acclaim. It is truly an industry in every sense, and has seen many mega projects, big players, major hits along with low budget ventures, small time producers and miserable flops. For many years, it stood first in the number of films made and revenues earned. Over the decades, it has entertained and influenced millions of audiences with hundreds of films. The Telugu Film Industry is described as one of the most successful industries in Indian Cinema.
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