S. V. Ranga Rao

S. V. Ranga Rao Biography

S. V. Ranga Rao was an actor, director and producer in Telugu and Tamil cinema. He was listed among the natural actors of south Indian cinema most popular with mythological roles with negative shades. His full name is Samarla Venkata Ranga Rao and shortly known by the name, S.V.R. He was popularly called as "Viswa Nata Chakravarthi." Other names given to him were Nata Sarvabhouma, Nata Sekhara and Nata Simha. He received Best Actor Award at the Indonesian International Film Festival held in Jakarta for his role as Kichaka in Nartanasala. He won Rashtrapati Award in acting 5 times for the movies, Annai (1962), Sarada (1962), Naanum Orupen (1963), Karpagam (1963) and Nartanasala (1963). He received Nandi Award for Best Feature Film twice for the movies - Chadarangam (1967) - Silver Nandi and Bandhavyalu (1968) - Gold Nandi.

He was born in Nuzvidu of Andhra Pradesh in the year 1918. His father Samarla Koteswara Rao was an excise inspector at Nuzvidu town. After schooling, he was sent to Hindu college by his father. Since childhood he was interested in acting and became a part of several stage shows since 12 years old. After graduation, he completely entered to the world of acting. He was invited by B.V. Ramanandam, a relative to play the lead actor in his film Varoodhini. He entered acting after leaving his job. Later he moved to Jamshedpur and worked as a budget assistant with the Tata Company.

Yet his love towards drama and acting called him and he re-entered as villain in the film, "Palletoori Pilla". He is known for portraying the villains of Hindu mythology onscreen and making those roles memorable. He was versatile in handling roles like Ravana, Ghatotkacha, Duryodhana, Kamsa and Kichaka.

Published: N/A

Updated: February 03, 2014