Legends Of Telugu Cinema, NTR and ANR Options

[Abdur Rehman]

I am starting a new post on the Legends of Telugu Cinema NT Rama Rao and A Nageswar Rao. I know the foot fall of this post will be few but still I want to complete my collection and sharing the albums available with me of these two legends. These two need no introduction as far as Telugu Cinema is concerned. They were fortunate enough to have reigned the Golden Period of Telugu Cinema accompanied my Ghantasala's music. Here is the brief biography of these two stars followed by their filmography.

[Abdur Rehman]

N.T.Ramarao alias Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao was born in Nimmakuru, a small village in Gudivada taluk on 28th May 1923, had his early education from a tutor, Valluru Subba Rao, in his native village. His parents, Venkataramamma and Laxmaiah, gave him in adoption to the latter\'s brother, Ramaiah and his wife Chandramma, who were issueless. He studied up to Class V in his village as there was no further education there. Ramaiah and his wife took their adopted son to Vijayawada and got him admitted into Class VI in the Municipal school. While doing his Intermediate course, he supplemented the family income by supplying milk to hotels in Vijayawada on his bicycle. At the end of the first year, the students decided to stage a play written by Kavi Samrat Viswanadha Satyanarayana, the well-known Telugu poet and writer and the head of the Telugu department of the college. The play, Rachamalluni Dautyam, had a strong heroine's character and girls did not take part in stage activities in those days. Satyanarayana ordered Rama Rao to don the robe of the heroine, and the latter took it up, though unwillingly. That was his first role on the stage and it got him the first prize and also kindled his interest in histrionics. During the college anniversary celebrations the next year, he played the role of Salim in the play Anarkali and again bagged the first prize.

In May 1942, when he was 20, Rama Rao married Basava Tarakam, the daughter of his maternal uncle. He joined the Andhra Christian College at Guntur for the Bachelor of Arts course in 1945. He formed an amateur drama group, National Art Theatre, with the help of his friends. The group used to stage plays to raise funds for noble causes. The first offer to join films came Rama Rao's way, when he was still in college. The famous Telugu director, C. Pullaiah, offered him a role in his film Keelu Gurram. He, however, turned down the offer as he first wanted to complete his degree course. A well-wisher introduced him to the established director, L.V. Prasad, who after a screen test in Madras, offered him a small role in his film Mana Desam. Rama Rao, who wanted to take up acting as a full-time career was looking for the role of a hero and rejected the offer. In the meantime, he appeared for the Madras Service Commission examination for sub-registrar's post. Of the 1,100 candidates who took the test, seven were selected and he was one of them. He took up the job in October 1947 for a salary of Rs.120. On the very first day of reporting for duty, he was shocked to see the staff taking bribes and was disillusioned.

Luckily for him, B.A. Subba Rao, who was making his directorial debut, Palleturi Pilla, saw Rama Rao's photograph in L.V. Prasad's album and decided that he was the right man for the hero's role in his film. He was offered Rs.1116 for the hero's role and he accepted the offer and went back home after signing an agreement. He resigned the sub-registrar's job, three weeks after he took it up and went back to Madras to launch himself in the screen career. He accepted the role of a police sub- inspector in Prasad's Mana Desam, which was his first film. He had an obsession for trying to be realistic in his films. In his first film as hero in Palleturi Pilla, he refused the services of a duplicate to do the risky bullfight scene, much against the wishes of the director. After some time, he lost grip on the noose and the enraged bull lifted him, swung him around and threw him to the ground. He suffered a wrist fracture and was hospitalized for several weeks. The bullfight contributed to the success of the film and it became a mega hit, running for 100 days at seven theatres in Andhra region. It was the folklore, Patala Bhairavi, which was the turning point in his career. The first godly role he played was that of Lord Krishna in Maya Bazaar. However, it was his role in Sri Venkateswara Mahatyam, released in 1960, that gave him a new identity. The deification of Rama Rao began and his residence in Madras became a shrine for pilgrims, who would visit him after a trip to Tirupati. NTR fans used to wait in long queues outside his house for a darshan of their living-god. They used to apprise him of their problems back home in their villages and he listened to them patiently before rushing to the studio in the morning.

Though widely recognized for his mythological characters, he is considered one of the greatest actors in Telugu film, and in general in South Indian films. His portrayal of Lord Krishna in Maya Bazaar was a turning point in his life. This movie created a record in Telugu film industry. It was the first film which has crossed one crore collection in Telugu film industry. His portrayal of avatars of Vishnu, especially Rama, Ravana and Krishna, mesmerized an entire generation who saw the face of Rao when these gods were mentioned. He also donned the roles of an elderly teacher in Badi Pantulu becoming a model to his pupils, as a prince and pauper in Raju-Peda, a down-to-earth servant dedicated to his master in Aatma Bhanduvu, a retired military officer in Major Chandra Kanth. The most notable movies acted by Rama Rao in mythological characters are Maya Bazaar as Sri Krishna, Lava Kusa as Lord Rama, Sri Krishnaarjuna Yuddham as Sri Krishna, Bheeshma as Bheeshma, Bhookailasa as Raavana, Nartanasala as Arjuna and also as Bruhannala, Panadava-vanavsam as Bheema, Sri Venkateswara Mahatyam as Lord Venkateswara, Maha Mantri Thimmarusu as Sri Krishna Devarayalu and Dana Veera Sura Karna as Duryodhana, Sri Krishna and Karna. An important factor that made him a great actor was his ability to deliver extremely lengthy dialogues that were original verses from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata with a fervor and command unmatched by most of his contemporaries. In addition, he generally played multiple roles in the same movie, which increased the number of dialogues and hence the preparation required.

Patala Bhairavi, a folklore drama involving a wily magician, a beautiful princess and a poor but brave young man. Rama Rao played the young man. The film, released in 1951, was a runaway success: It celebrated 100-day runs in 34 cinema halls, silver jubilee (25 weeks) in 13 theatres and golden jubilee (50 weeks) in one. It broke all the previous box office records in the Telugu film industry. The film was soon made into a Tamil version by Vijaya’s and a Hindi version by Gemini’s – both with Rama Rao as hero. They too turned out to be hits. The film established him as a mass hero. Malleswari and Pelli Chesi Choodu, two of the other three Vijaya Productions, followed soon. They too did well at the box office. By the end of 1953, he had already starred in 14 films and felt encouraged to launch the National Art Theatre to produce films along with his brother Trivikrama Rao. The first film they produced was Todu Dongalu, in which he played the hero. A social film, meaning Fellow Thieves, it sought to expose the state of affairs in society. The film became the first Telugu movie to receive a certificate of merit from the President of India in 1954. It was the only Telugu film screened at a film festival in China that year. But, at the box office it was flop. The result was the making of Jaya Simha, a folklore drama, the next year, and 1955. The film was a hit. It celebrated 100-day runs a dozen cinema halls and silver jubilee in one. But the film that brought him instant fame for playing a godly role was Sri Venkateswara Mahatmyam, the story of the Lord of the Seven Hills at Tirumala-Tirupati. Directed by P. Pullaiah, a veteran, the black and white film cost Rs 11 lakh to make and was released in 1960. It celebrated silver jubilee, 100-day runs and grossed over Rs one crore on barely 20 prints – a record for that time.

Here breathed his last on 18 January 1996.

This post has been edited by Abdur Rehman: Jul 17 2011, 02:37 PM