Hyderabad, Sep 28 (IANS): Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao has paid rich tributes to Dadasaheb Phalke awardee Paidi Jai Raj on his 113th birth anniversary on Wednesday.

Born on Telangana soil, Jai Raj rose to the top of the Indian film industry and spread the Telangana glory at the national level, the chief minister said.

KCR, as Rao is popularly known, remembered Paidi Jairaj's services to the national film industry.

KCRA said that the journey of Paidi Jairaj in the first phase of Indian Film industry from 'Mooki' to ' Talkie' is commendable. As the very first action hero on the Indian silver screen, Jairaj is a pride for Telangana.

It is a great movement that Paidi Jairaj became a top hero in Bollywood even before the early stage of Telugu film industry, he said.

Apart from his unique acting skills, Chief Minister KCR hailed the first generation Telangana film actor Paidi Jairaj, who also excelled as a director and producer and received the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award. He extolled Jairaj as the founder of the Telangana film industry.

He said Paidi Jairaj has acted in more than 300 films not only in Hindi but also in Marathi, Oriya, Bengali, Punjabi, Konkani, Gujarati, Malayalam and many national languages and became the doyen of the Indian film industry.

Recognising his services to film industry, the state government honoured Paidi Jairaj by naming the meeting hall in Ravindra Bharati by after 'Paidi Jai Raj Preview Theatre'.

The respect for Telangana language, culture and literature increased in the film industry with the state government's constant efforts in the home state.

After the formation of Telangana, the chief minister said that Telangana youth are excelling in many fields in the film industry with the encouragement provided by the state government through the Department of Culture. He wished Telangana film industry develop more in the future.