Hyderabad, Feb 18 (IANS): Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu Wednesday expressed grief at the death of movie mogul D. Ramanaidu, and recalled his "immeasurable" contribution to cinema.

"Deeply saddened over the passing of Movie Mogul D. Ramanaidu. A legendary producer whose outstanding contribution to cinema is immeasurable," Chandrababu Naidu posted on his official Twitter handle.

A Dadasaheb Phalke Award winner and Padma Bhushan awardee, Ramanaidu was undergoing treatment for prostate cancer when he passed away at a private hospital here Wednesday, his publicist told IANS.

The movie producer was 79.

Some of his popular Telugu films include “Prem Nagar”, “Jeevana Tarangalu”, “Soggadu”, “Kaliyuga Pandavulu”, “Coolie No 1” and “Ganesh”. In 1989, he launched Ramanaidu Studios, followed by Ramanaidu Colour Lab and Cine Village.

In a career lasting over five decades, he produced over 130 films in over 20 Indian languages.

In Hindi, he produced films such as “Prem Nagar”, “Dildaar”, “Maqsad”, “Insaaf”, “Tohfa”, “Anari” and “Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain”.

He had also produced films in Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Oriya, Punjabi and English.

Ramanaidu is survived by his sons Suresh Babu, Venkatesh Daggubati and grandsons Rana and Naga Chaitanya.