Telugu community honors Akkineni in US on completing 80 years in acting

Flushing, NY: Veteran Telugu film star Akkineni Nageswara Rao has expressed gratitude for honor accorded him by NRIs, especially those in the US, in the year he completed 80 years in acting—onstage and in movies.

 

The Telugu Literary and Cultural Association (TLCA), a tristate organization, honored the thespian here on the occasion of his 89th birthday. Nageswara Rao, popularly known as ANR, is formally scheduled to celebrate his birthday early next month in Dallas, Texas.

“Confidence in a person is a great thing. Your mind is sacred; your love towards me is unparalleled,” ANR told the audience, many of them in their late 40s and above. Up to 800 attended the dinner event held August 17 at the Ganesh temple auditorium in Flushing. He spoke for about 20 minutes in chaste Telugu and received standing ovation thrice.

ANR said he came to the US at the invitation of various Telugu organizations, including the TLCA. V. Nagendra Gupta, president of the TLCA, said later that when they invited him over two months ago, he accepted immediately.

On the occasion, TLCA honored prominent Telugus and others who have been closely associated with the community. All the awards were formally presented by ANR on behalf of TLCA; he urged Indian-Americans to promote languages and cultures of the motherland and pass them to future generations.

From zero to hero

ANR had humble beginnings. He was born in a village near Gudivada in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh and his education was limited to primary school due to his parents’ economic condition. But in his later years, he studied vigorously and became a fluent English speaker.

He excelled in youthful roles, showed his dancing skills, and acted as a romantic hero with ease even when he reached his early 60s. Recalling the same spirit at the TLCA honor ceremony, he said: “I am ready to dance with any young girls even now.”

The stage was decorated with ANR portraits from his hit films. Impressed, he lauded V. Nagendra Gupta and his TLCA colleagues for the arrangements.

Starting in the 1960s, ANR has visited numerous times. He stressed that the latest visit was at the invitation of his Telugu fans. And this time he wanted to meet “everybody.”

New Jersey, Michigan, Missouri and Texas are among the states where he is scheduled to be honored by the local Telugu organizations.

ANR is one of the most honored Indian actors. Various state governments, particularly that of Andhra Pradesh, and the Center have felicitated him for his services to the film industry. The Padma Vibhushan honor and the Dadasaheb Phalke award were also conferred on him.

He began acting in street plays at the age of nine. Those days even female characters used to be donned by males and ANR’s case was no exception. Though “Dharmapatni” was his first film, in which ANR played the role of a friend during the hero’s childhood days, it did not help him much. He continued his life with stage plays such as “Asoka Jyothi”, “Sathyanveshana” and “Telugu Thalli.”

Ghantasala Balaramaiah, a noted filmmaker of those times, noticed the youngster’s talent and offered him the hero’s role in his “Seetharama Jananam”. Many consider that film of 1944 in which ANR played young Rama as his first, and his latest is “Sreerama Rajyam” (2011) in which he donned the role of Valmiki.

Since the mid-1940s, he acted in more than 250 films, including half-a-dozen in Tamil. ANR is considered the pioneer of the Telugu film industry’s shift to Hyderabad from its Madras base.

Though he started his career in mythological films, ANR slowly began moving toward social themes. Still he proved his mettle with such roles as Abhimanyu (in Maaya Bazaar) and Arjuna (in Srikrishnarjuna Yuddham). He acted to the satisfaction of the audience in historical films like “Tenali Ramakrishna”, “Kalidasu” and “Anarkali”. With such films as “Bhakta Tukaram,” (Maharashtra) “Vipranarayana”, (Tamil Nadu) “Jayabheri” (Orissa), “Amara Silpi Jakkanna” (Karnataka) and “Chanakya-Chandragupta” (northern India), ANR proved himself as an all-India actor.

But special performances and recognition have always been reserved for his present-day social roles as Devadasu (failed lover), Dr Chakravarthi (as a doctor in a romantic love story) and Donga Ramudu (as a thief turned good man). As a prominent person who praised ANR’s all-round acting abilities once stated frankly that “words are simply not enough” to describe his roles.

Many of his films were runaway hits. “Premabhishekam,” released in 1981 during his twilight years as a hero, ran for 533 days in Hyderabad—some still rate it as the longest run for a Telugu film.

The Akkineni International Foundation is the charitable wing of Annapurna Studios, which was established after the name of ANR’s wife. As part of its social responsibility, the foundation gives the annual ANR National Award for lifetime achievement and contributions to the Indian film industry.

According to the TLCA, 11 US-based Telugu luminaries were honored for their contributions to various fields. Aside from the award winners, Pailla Malla Reddy and Jaya Sekhar Talluri—major donors—joined executive members and others on the stage in receiving honors from ANR. Gupta and Hyma Reddy, chairperson of the TLCA board of trustees, presented the chief guest with a plaque, a shawl and a bouquet.

TLCA Secretary Krishnasri Gandham proposed a vote a thanks and expressed gratitude to those who were present. Anjana Sowmya, a noted film singer; Srihari Vegesna, a singer from Chicago; Abhinaya Krishna, a mimicry artist and anchor from India; and ventriloquist Sylvester; and whistle wizard Siva Prasad entertained the audiences at the seven-hour event.

Later in a brief interview, Gupta told this newspaper that the TLCA was proud to have organized the event. “The stage was like a cinema setting, something we see back home,” Gupta said, quoting ANR.

Mahesh Saladi was the MC for the felicitations.