July 3, 2008
Hyderabad

The older generation of the film actors in Tollywood is eloquent to say – NTR and ANR are the two eyes of the industry. But, for lakhs and lakhs of wise film enthusiasts all over Andhra Pradesh and neighboring Tamilnadu, there is one artiste who is constantly regarded the Third Eye in the annals of South’s big screen entertainment from the time it emerged from the rickety studios of the erstwhile Calcutta to Rajahmundry to Madras. He is none other than Samarla Venkata Ranga Rao, most popular as SVR aka SV Ranga Rao. Today (July 3rd) happens to be the 90th Birth anniversary of this all time grandee. His timeless legacy steeped in public memory will last as long as the audience patronizes the Telugu cinema. Idlebrain fondly remembers this “Vishwa Nata Chakravarti.”

Unyielding in spirit and action
Born into a rich family in Krishna district during the fag end of the World War I, he had the rare privilege of good education in Chennai. Though his father was a highly influential man during the British Raj, he shunned the job opportunities “that came to his feet”. He always behaved as though he was born to become an actor. Forced by parents and relatives, he had a brief stint with companies like the Tatas. But nothing could stop him from realizing his boyhood dreams for the stage and later the big entertainment. The rest is history.

SVR’s Versatility – Na Bhootho na bhavishyath!
Remember the mannerism: Orey Dongrey in the film Jagat Jettilu (1970). It swept through the child and youth segments for over a couple of years. His performance in mythological movies was breathtaking that it seems the audience will never be having a Duryodhana like him again, though those that had come later were only the alternates with nominal success with NTR or Kaikala Satyanarayana. He is like another Brahma (the creator) as he poured new life into the character of Ghatothkacha, never to be surpassed till date. As Nepali Mantrik in Pathala Bhairavi, SVR’s show is Na bhootho na bhavishyath. He brought much dignity to the zamindari system on reel life which otherwise was nothing but ruthless oppression in real life. He mesmerized the womenfolk with his grace. Undoubtedly, he was the first who brought the commercial dimension to the “Dialogue”. Perhaps, SVR is one and the only actor who commanded equal respect and admiration both in Andhra and Tamilnadu. What a Chittoor Nagaiah is to Telugus is what SVR to the Tamils. At a time when famed artistes made a circle round them sticking to only image-roles, SVR dared to be versatile, which in fact clouded the so-called image-roles. To measure volume of oceans is humanly impossible. So is the legacy of SVR.

Unfortunate that SVR born in India!
What relevance he holds for the modern Tollywood? Today, we have umpteen numbers of fatherly figures on the big screen. The quality of versatility has come to narrow down its meaning thus: Those who can’t succeed or prolong in image-roles resort to other roles, what we call – the villains or character artistes. As per the dictates of the directors and the story, they perform and simply vanish – only to emerge in other films with similar roles. Is it versatility?

These days, celebrating birthdays in film industry has become a fad. In public life, it symbolizes status and politics. Caught in this rut, are we forgetting the pioneers of Telugu film entertainment? But for enacting a couple of stage plays and honoring an aging artiste on SVR’s birthday, nothing else is being done really either by the Govt. or by the film industry. His contemporary Gummadi once remarked: “Fortunate are we to have SVR born in India but SVR is unfortunate to have born here. Had he born in the West, he would have been one of the top five actors of all time in the world.” Long live SVR! In the hearts of film lovers!