July 31, 2008

Men may come and men may go. So are the glamour people. A very few of them could make an indelible impression and continue to live in the hearts of the audience. One among these rare personalities is late Padmashri Dr. Allu Ramalingaih. Today is his fourth death anniversary. He is one and the only Tollywood actor to complete an uninterrupted inning with more than a thousand films. His frolics, jokes, humor, and multifaceted histrionics will continue to be a movable feast to the audience, generation and generation. Idlebrain.com fondly remembers this supreme pioneer of comedy in Telugu films.

Away from Palakollu
Allu Ramalingaiah’s five-decade long services to Tollywood came to end four years ago. Hailing from Palakollu in the scenic Godavari basin, Allu moved to Madras, just a couple of years after the formation of Andhra Pradesh. Making his debut with Puttillu in 1953, he came to be recognized as a highly potential comedian and for about four decades to follow, it is not an exaggeration to say that he found it difficult to reach out to his birthplace at least once in four years. He would be busy throughout the year and two out of every three films, Allu was a must. His contemporaries and old stuff among junior artists still remember how he used to cook food for not less than a dozen people. He would make his shelter a guest house for strangers from a chain of villages, reaching Chennai for screen chances.

Inspired by the Mahatma
Very few knew that Allu was a freedom fighter, a communist and above all, a doctor (who saved many a life from snakebites and chronic ailments with his homeopathy). Before joining films, he used to walk distances to remote villages to administer medicines to the patients. For about a dozen villages around Palakollu, Allu happened to be the only “doctor” to a population of 40,000. When Allu was arrested by the British during the Quit India Movement, hoards of villagers blocked the approach road and could relent only on his word, asking them to let him to go jail, and terming it as “an order from the Mahatma.”

Deplored bad comedy
In recognition of his services, he was rightly conferred the National honor Padma Shri and State honor Raghupati Venkaiah Award. His dialogues smeared with nasal effect used mesmerize the crowds. One such: Talammu vesithini, gollemu marachitini (NTR’s Yamagola). Hundreds and hundreds are such rib ticklers. His contemporaries held him in esteem for his flawless behavior, discipline and varied talents. During a speech, he deplored that the comedy is being identified with ugly humor and vulgar side tracks in the present day films.

An exemplary of healthy comedy
At a time when the comedy has become a must in films, the directors and comedy-writers are doing their job in a hurry, lacing it with dual meanings, keeping the family crowds at bay. He used to suggest the filmmakers many time to take comedy as a tonic for health, but not as rum to make riot. True to his believed principles, Allu’s comedy ever remains as a panacea for stress and regulated heart beat. The ace comedian left a noble trail behind him when he donated his eyes to the Chiranjeev Eye and Blood Bank, posthumously. A life worth its happening ideals and deeds, indeed!