Venky Atluri meets K Rangaiah, the real-life inspiration behind Sir/Vaathi 

Director Venky Atluri, fresh off the success of his film Sir, which was also released as Vaathi in Tamil, met teacher K Rangaiah, who is reportedly the real-life inspiration behind the film. The director conversed with the teacher-activist about the film and his life. In a bid to recognize the efforts of K Rangaiah in the field of education, which very much mirror the core themes of Sir, Sithara Entertainments, the producers of the film have decided to donate 3 lakh rupees, which will go towards the construction of libraries across government schools in remote areas. 

K Rangaiah has been instrumental in persuading students to continue their schooling, in the region of Savarkhed, in Maharashtra. When the school headmaster in his village was changed after he joined work, he decided to take up the responsibility of bringing back students to schools and ran campaigns against persistent problems in the region, which prevented students from attending school. K Rangaiah has been honoured with the President Award for his efforts.  He is also the youngest teacher to be a recipient of the said award.