Singeetham Srinivasa Rao, the veteran Indian director and writer known for genre-hopping films in Telugu, Tamil and Kannada, died on Saturday evening at Kauvery Hospital in Chennai, aged 94. His credits include the silent comedy Pushpak (1987), Apoorva Sagodharargal and Michael Madana Kama Rajan, many made with actor Kamal Haasan, and he began his career assisting on the Telugu classic Mayabazar (1957). He remained active almost to the end: his musical fantasy Sing Geetham was released in June 2026, and younger filmmakers have cited his fearless experimentation as a lasting influence on Indian cinema.