Ramoji Rao Age, Death, Wife, Children, Family, Biography

Some Lesser Known Facts About Ramoji Rao

• Ramoji Rai was born 13 days after his grandfather’s death who had migrated from Perishepalli to Pedaparupudi. He was named ‘Ramayya’ in his grandfather’s memory.

• He did not like his name and changed it to ‘Ramoji Rao’ when he started going to school.

• According to one source, he was born into a rich family, and according to another source, he belonged to a poor agricultural family.

• In the 1950s, he moved to Delhi where he worked as an artist in an advertising firm.

• In 1961, he moved to Hyderabad after his marriage.

• In 1962, he started Margadarsi Chit Fund with his wedding money which later became one of the biggest chit fund companies in India.
  

  Ramoji Rao during his 30s when he started his chit-fund company

• In 1965, Rao started an advertising firm Kiran Ads.
• He later started the Vasundhara Fertilisers company followed by a magazine for farmers known as Annadata.

• In 1970, he started an an outdoor advertising agency known as Images which secured contracts with Coromandel Fertilisers and Dunlop.

• In 1974, he started the Telugu newspaper Eenadu (meaning Today) with its first edition on 10 August 1974 from Visakhapatnam. Citizens of Visakhapatnam often had to wait till afternoon to receive newspapers that came from Vijayawada by post.

• Interestingly, before starting his own newspaper, he once requested KLN Prasad, the owner of the then-biggest Telugu newspaper Andhra Jyothi to start a Visakhapatnam edition. Prasad laughed at his suggestion and told him to start his own newspaper.

• He bought a second-hand printing machine for Rs 96,000 and also leased an abandoned cinema studio near Visakhapatnam for 33 years to start his publishing company. Eenadu later went on to become the largest Telugu newspaper with more than 30-40 lakh newspapers in circulation.
  

  Ramoji Rao (extreme right) when he started his newspaper Eenadu

• In the early 1980s, he got close to NTR by giving him good information and also publishing good news about NTR in his newspaper which helped him establish the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and become Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh.

• In 1983, he ventured into filmmaking by starting his film production company named Usha Kiron Movies.
  

  Ramoji Rao when he started his production company, Usha Kiron Movies

• In 1984, he started a tourism company Ushodaya Shipping in Visakhapatnam.

• In 1989, he did not support NTR which was one of the reasons he lost the elections.

• In December 1994, he once made NT Rama Rao wait at the door of his home for 10 minutes. At that time, NTR wanted his support for elections but they were not on good terms, hence Rao rejected the deal. NTR’s wife later said that he wanted to humiliate NTR by making him wait.

• He started his news channel ETV in 1995 when N. Chandrababu Naidu was trying to become TDP President by removing NTR. The channel broadcasted hourly bulletins in favour of Naidu.
  

  Ramoji Rao during a meeting with N. Chandrababu Naidu (right)

• Rao started Ramoji Film City in 1996 and named the project after himself by saying that it was his last project. The studio is spread over 2 thousand acres and is the world’s largest film studio complex.
  

  Ramoji Rao at the Ramoji Film City

• After opening his film city, he only gave interviews to promote it due to which BBC once named him ‘the reclusive Rupert Murdoch of India.’

• Varavara Rao, a Maoist activist, once claimed that when Rao was searching for land for his studio, Naxals wanted to kidnap him to get some of the arrested people released but the letter was intercepted by police.

• In 1997, he said in an interview that he hated the central government of India which ruled from Delhi. Instead, he liked the idea of the United States of India having autonomous power for each state.

• He launched 6 more news channels in local languages in 2002 which extended to 12 languages in 2008 which made ETV the largest regional language news network in India.

• He did not like Congress, and in 2004, after UPA (United Progressive Alliance) won the elections, he called the senior journalist Kuldip Nayar and requested him to do something so that an Italian (Sonia Gandhi) would not become the Prime Minister of India.

• In 2009, when his news publication and Margdarsi Chit Fund companies were in legal trouble, Nimesh Kampani, a Mumbai-based investment banker and owner of Equator Trading Enterprises Private Limited bought shares in Ushodaya Enterprises for Rs 6,780 crores.

• It was later revealed that Kampani had bought the shares on behalf of Mukesh Ambani‘s Reliance Industries Group (RIL) which also bought several channels of ETV network in 2015.

• He had a very good relationship with Narendra Modi. When Modi started his election campaign in 2014, he gave his first Hindi interview to ETV and also visited Ramoji Film City.
  

  Ramoji Rao with Narendra Modi

• His employees at the news network ETV often called him a visionary. Three months before Telangana was created in 2014 by dividing Andhra Pradesh, he formed a team to start a new news channel that helped them increase their viewership.

• It was later reported that he tried to avoid any fight with KCR and YS Jagan Mohan Reddy to protect his business. He shifted the office of Eenadu publication to Ramoji Film City located in Greater Hyderabad to avoid taxes.

• One of the retired employees of the packaging department of his pickle brand Priya once said that he (employee) sent around 10 tonnes of expired pickles for new packaging in the van of Eenadu newspaper which agents sold to the public.

• He later formed a business group Ramoji Business Group which included his companies.

• Most of his business associates said that he only did those businesses that needed very little investment. He often got his ideas turned into businesses by investment firms without investing his personal wealth.

• He used to live in a 4-storey house in Ramoji Film City where he also had a helipad for the reputed people who often visited him.

• He always wore a white safari suit.
  

  Ramoji Rao in a white safari suit

• On 5 June 2024, he complained of high blood pressure and breathlessness and was admitted to Star Hospitals in Nanakramguda, Hyderabad. He died around 3-4 am on 8 June 2024.

• Several celebrities from Bollywood and other film industries, politicians, and people from various communities paid tribute to Ramoji Rao after his death.

• His last rites were held on the morning of 9 June 2024 in the Ramoji Film City with state honours which was attended by many bureaucrats and celebrities.

• Telangana government declared state mourning on 9 and 10 June 2024 in his honour.