A NAGESWARA RAO
A tri-lingual actor (1924-2014)
The Telugu film industry lost one of its greatest icons when A Nageswara Rao passed into history on 22 January, 2014. A Padma Vibhushan and Dadasaheb Phalke award winner, Nageswara Rao was an integral part of the film industry for more than seven decades and according to reports had just completed his part in the film ‘Manam’ where his son Nagarjuna, a superstar in his own right and Nagarjuna’s son Naga Chaitanya also matched strides with him. Born in a poor family, Nageswara Rao had to drop out of school after his third class, but his flair for histrionics led him to theatre where he mostly donned female roles as in the early years women were not allowed to work in theatre or films. A chance encounter with a film maker saw him land a role in the film ‘Dharmapatni’ at the age of 17. In a career that has seen more ups than downs, the thespian worked in around 256 films including several films in Tamil. He was the man responsible for Telugu cinema shifting from its roots in Tamil Nadu to Hyderabad. He set up his own studio, Annapurna Studio in the city which till today remains one of the main hubs for shooting films and serials.
Nageswara Rao and his illustrious contemporary N T Rama Rao often referred to as ANR and NTR, were the twin pillars of the Telugu film industry for several decades and both of them had a legion of fans supporting them all the way. Many of Nageswara Rao’s films turned out to be blockbusters and among them the significant ones were ‘Balaraju, Rojulu Maraayi, Samsaram, Aradhana, Ardhaangi, Dasara Bullodu, Illarakam etc. His flair for comedy was to the fore in films like Missamma and Chakrapani. Fifty years after he debuted in cinema, he acted in Sitaramayyagari Manavarulu which had a phenomenal run at the box office. Rao was the first actor in Telugu cinema to play a double role and even acted in nine roles in the remake of the Tamil film Navarathri, reprising the characters played by Sivaji Ganesan, Tamil bcinema’s acting genius. Although he was a staunch rationalist, Nageswara Rao never shied away from portraying pivotal roles in mythological films.
Rao earned name and fame as the tragedy king in Telugu cinema and several of his tear jerkers rocked the box office. Most notable was his portrayal of Devdas in the adaptation of Sarat Chandra Chatterjee’s novel. His film Premabhishekam directed by veteran Dasari Narayana Rao was a milestone in Nageswara Rao’s career and it ran continuously for over 500 days in theatres in Andhra Pradesh. Rao also has the distinction of acting in films made on great personalities like the Sanskrit poet Kalidas, Bhakta Jayadeva who hailed from Odisha, Amarasilpi Jakanna of Karnataka, Vipranarayana of Tamilnadu and Bhaktha Thukaram the famous singer. A whole generation of heroines worked with him in his films right from Savithri, Anjali Devi, Bhanumathi, Jamuna,Saroja Devi, Jayalalithaa, Vanisri down to Jayaprada, Jayasudha and Sridevi. Nageswara Rao was not just an actor par excellence, but also a studio owner and film producer. Widely travelled, Rao was an ambassador of not just Telugu cinema but Indian cinema as well. An affable person who endeared himself to everyone in the industry, a philanthropist who ran a foundation that helped the needy, Nageswara Rao’s popularity never waned even when he reduced his commitments with advancing age, though he remained healthy till cancer took a toll on his health. The actor in his last press conference had vowed to fight the disease and live up to a 100, but tragically fate willed otherwise. His films have however earned him a place in the pantheon of all time greats of Indian cinema and he will continue to live on in the hearts of all his fans.
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C V Aravind
The writer is is a Bangalore-based freelance journalist[/column]