A banker who stepped into the silver screen to captivate millions
Even while working as a banker, his heart belonged to the stage, and he actively pursued theatre. Eventually, driven by passion and purpose, he took the final plunge into the Telugu film industry, where he went on to leave an indelible mark with his extraordinary performances.
Born in Kankipadu village, a suburb of Vijayawada, on July 10, 1942, Kota Srinivasa Rao initially pursued a course in Bachelor of Science to fulfil his father Seetha Ramanjaneyulu's desire to see his son following his footsteps and become a doctor like him. But the pull of acting proved irresistible, and he was drawn to the theatre.
'I spoke to him over the phone just a few days ago. If only I had known the end was near, I would have lingered a little longer and told him how much he meant to me and the industry,' said founder of Telugu Cinema Vedika and vice-president of Andhra Pradesh Film Chamber of Commerce Vijay Varma Pakalapati.
Mr. Varma was the executive producer of the film Premalo Pavani Kalyan, in which Kota Srinivasa Rao played the heroine's grandfather.
The actor married Rukmini and the couple had three children, two daughters and a son. Their son, Kota Venkata Anjaneya Prasad, who also acted in J.D. Chakravarthy's film Siddham and alongside his father in Gaayam 2, died in a road accident in Hyderabad on June 20, 2010.
Though life treated him harshly on the personal front, with his wife's chronic illness, a daughter suffering a serious accident and the loss of his son to a tragic mishap, Kota Srinivasa Rao never allowed grief to eclipse his craft.
'He would at times share his emotional burdens. But once the camera rolled, he transformed. The pain, however deep, never touched his performance. He gave every scene his fullest, every character his heart. Be it a villain, a comedian, a stern father, or a politician, he lived his roles with unwavering commitment,' recalls senior director Devi Prasad.
Recalling his experience of working with Kota Srinivasa Rao, he said in the film Rajdoot he played the hero's father and Kota Srinivasa's son. 'Venkatesh-starrer Shatru, released in 1991 brought him fame, he said, adding that the film was directed by Kodi Ramakrishna and he was the associate director.
'There was a gap of a few years after his first film Pranam Khareedu. Then came Pratighatana and Vande Maataram and after this, there was no turning back for Kota Srinivasa Rao,' says Mr. Prasad. In Pratighatana, use of the Nizam's slang by himstruck a chord with the audiences and he won their hearts. 'He brought a definite charm and authenticity to every role, he said, adding: 'How I wish we had more of him'.
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Among them was 17-year-old B Saroja Devi (born Jan 7, 1938, the third daughter of Bhairappa, a police officer, and Rudramma) Her first release was 'Mahakavi Kalidasa' (1955) opposite Kannada-Tamil star Honnappa Bhagavatar Within a few years of her debut, Saroja Devi starred opposite MGR and Sivaji Ganesan in Tamil; Dilip Kumar, Sunil Dutt and Shammi Kapoor in Hindi; and N T Rama Rao in Telugu, in addition to her Kannada films Between 1957 and 1967, she starred in 26 films with MGR, 22 with Sivaji Ganesan and 17 with Gemini Ganesan By the late 1970s, she acted as the female lead in more than 150 films across four languages After the passing of her husband in 1986, Saroja Devi reduced her film appearances. The death of her adopted daughter, Bhuvaneshwari, was another personal blow. Her cameo in Puneeth Rajkumar's 2019 film 'Natasaarvabhowma' was her last screen appearance Her awards: Padma Shri (1969), Padma Bhushan (1992) (The writer is a journalist and author)
