The city that never left the frame: how Vizag became Indian cinema’s enduring backdrop
Long before the glass towers in Hyderabad defined Telugu cinema, filmmakers had pointed their lenses at the shores of Visakhapatnam. For over 60 years, this
Long before the glass towers in Hyderabad defined Telugu cinema, filmmakers had pointed their lenses at the shores of Visakhapatnam. For over 60 years, this coastal city – home to beaches, hills, colonial-era architecture, university campuses, and lush valleys – has shone on the silver screen. What started with a landmark black-and-white film in the early 1960s gradually evolved into a tradition that has drawn directors from Telugu, Tamil, Odia and other film industries to the city. One among them is Tollywood director Praveen Kandregula, who says filming in Visakhapatnam rarely feels like work, asserting that the city is one of the most versatile outdoor filming destinations in southern India. His one of the recent directorial stints was Subham (2025). The nearly 25-day shooting schedule for the film, primarily shot in Bheemili, a town 30 kms away from Visakhapatnam, felt more like a holiday than a shooting schedule, he says. “We chose Bheemili as the primary location for the film because the town’s expansive beach, wide frames, and infinity views gave us the visual scale.” “It doesn’t feel like you’re travelling somewhere else. It feels like you’re in your own hometown,” says the director, who grew up in Visakhapatnam and worked as a cinematographer on films shot in the city before becoming a director. His experience is merely the latest chapter in a cinematic relationship that spans more than six decades. For a retired professor who watched her first major film shoot as a child, a veteran actor whose journey from theatre to cinema began in Visakhapatnam, and a contemporary filmmaker who continues to return home with his camera, the city remains much more than a backdrop. It is an enduring character in its own right. Before the cameras arrived For Dr. Rachakonda Parvathi, 70, retired Professor of Physiology at Andhra Medical College, Visakhapatnam’s association with cinema predates the arrival of large film units. She remembers the Beach Road of her childhood as a spectacular drive where the road climbed gently towards Andhra University, offering uninterrupted views of the sea, red dunes and dense greenery. Among the elegant villas overlooking the coastline lived actor and dancer Jayashree, known for her performance alongside L. Vijayalakshmi in Kanchu Kota. The city also has an early association with Waheeda Rehman, who spent part of her childhood in Visakhapatnam while her father was posted here.
Parvathi recalls that Rehman studied at St. Joseph’s Convent before making her Telugu debut in Rojulu Marayi. These recollections form part of the city’s lesser-known cinematic history. Yet it was Kula Gothralu (1962), starring Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Krishna Kumari, that firmly established Visakhapatnam as a filming destination. Film historians generally regard it as the first feature film to be extensively shot in the city. “The shooting of Kula Gothralu became the most talked-about event in Visakhapatnam,” says Dr. Parvathi. “ANR and Krishna Kumari were showered with affection. People treated them as though they belonged to the city.” Every morning, residents eagerly waited to learn where the unit would shoot next. One day it was Scandal Point overlooking the sea. Another day it was the Sri Satyanarayana Swamy Temple inside Andhra Medical College. On another occasion it was the Simhachalam temple. “The whole town seemed to revolve around the film,” she says. The film became an inadvertent visual archive of Visakhapatnam in the early 1960s. The duet filmed against Dolphin’s Nose captured the coastline from the sea. Lawson’s Bay’s casuarina groves, the coconut plantations of Yarada, the stone steps leading to Simhachalam temple and sweeping views from Isuka Konda all appeared on screen. Even Peerla Koneru, behind what is today the Vizag Central shopping complex, and clusters of thatched houses found a place in the film, preserving images of a town that has since transformed beyond recognition. Theatre opened the door to cinema If Kula Gothralu introduced the city to filmmakers, the flourishing theatre movement of the 1960s and 1970s helped supply actors. Among them was Susil Kumar Misro, whose acting career began while studying at A.V.N. College around 1965. Later, he completed diploma courses in acting and direction at the Department of Theatre Arts, Andhra University, while continuing to perform with his own theatre troupe. His entry into films came unexpectedly. Producer A.P. Gangadhara Rao and director B.V. Prasad were scouting Visakhapatnam for locations and new faces when they watched a rehearsal at the Convocation Theatre. “They watched our rehearsal quietly and left,” Mr. Misro recalls. “Later they came back and told me there was a role for me.” The opportunity became his screen debut in Needaleni Adadi (1974), after which further offers followed.
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