Kota Srinivasa Rao: A banker who stepped into the silver display to captivate tens of millions

Veteran actor Kota Srinivasa Rao, identified for portraying characters of various shades on display, led an equally multifaceted life off-screen. He started as a science scholar to fulfil his father’s dream of seeing him develop into a physician, earlier than moving into the world of banking.

Even whereas working as a banker, his coronary heart belonged to the stage, and he actively pursued theatre. Eventually, pushed by ardour and function, he took the ultimate plunge into the Telugu movie business, the place he went on to go away an indelible mark together 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 want to see his son following his footsteps and develop into a physician like him. But the pull of performing proved irresistible, and he was drawn to the theatre.

“I spoke to him over the telephone only a few days in the past. If solely I had identified the top was close to, I might have lingered a bit of longer and informed him how a lot he meant to me and the business,” stated founding father of Telugu Cinema Vedika and vice-president of Andhra Pradesh Film Chamber of Commerce Vijay Varma Pakalapati.

Mr. Varma was the chief producer of the movie Premalo Pavani Kalyan, during which Kota Srinivasa Rao performed the heroine’s grandfather.

The actor married Rukmini and the couple had three youngsters, two daughters and a son. Their son, Kota Venkata Anjaneya Prasad, who additionally acted in J.D. Chakravarthy’s movie Siddham and alongside his father in Gaayam 2, died in a highway accident in Hyderabad on June 20, 2010.

Though life handled him harshly on the non-public entrance, together with his spouse’s power sickness, a daughter struggling a severe accident and the lack of his son to a tragic mishap, Kota Srinivasa Rao by no means allowed grief to eclipse his craft.

“He would at instances share his emotional burdens. But as soon as the digital camera rolled, he remodeled. The ache, nevertheless deep, by no means touched his efficiency. He gave each scene his fullest, each character his coronary heart. Be it a villain, a comic, a stern father, or a politician, he lived his roles with unwavering dedication,” recollects senior director Devi Prasad.

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Recalling his expertise of working with Kota Srinivasa Rao, he stated within the movie Rajdoot he performed the hero’s father and Kota Srinivasa’s son. “Venkatesh-starrer Shatru, launched in 1991 introduced him fame, he stated, including that the movie was directed by Kodi Ramakrishna and he was the affiliate director.

“There was a spot of some years after his first movie Pranam Khareedu. Then got here Pratighatana and Vande Maataram and after this, there was no turning again for Kota Srinivasa Rao,” says Mr. Prasad. In Pratighatana, use of the Nizam’s slang by himstruck a chord with the audiences and he received their hearts. “He introduced a particular allure and authenticity to each position, he stated, including: “How I want we had extra of him”.