MUMBAI: Renowned playback singer S.P. Balasubrahmanyam Monday said that late Telugu legendary filmmaker Sattiraju Lakshmi Narayana aka Bapu was to work on animated film on Lord Hanuman.

Bapu, 80, passed away Sunday here following a cardiac arrest.

"He (Bapu) was preparing a storyboard for an animated film on Lord Hanuman. His son and my son (S.P. Charan) were supposed to co-produce this project, but unfortunately he passed away before it could materialise," Balasubrahmanyam told IANS.

Bapu, who started his career as a cartoonist, made his directorial debut with 1967 Telugu film "Sakshi", whose story and dialogues were written by his late best friend, writer Mullapudi Venkata Ramana.

Ramana and Bapu collaborated on several memorable Telugu films such as "Mutyala Muggu", "Seetha Kalyanam" and "Mister Pellam".

In his four-decade long career, Bapu directed 51 films, predominantly Telugu and a few Hindi films as well.

He introduced actor Anil Kapoor in a lead role in 1980 Telugu film "Vamsa Vruksham".

Bapu also directed Hindi films such as "Woh Saat Din", "Hum Paanch" and "Pyari Behna". In 2013, Bapu was conferred with the Padma Shri.