Basavaraju Venkata Padmanabha Rao Biography 
Basavaraju Venkata Padmanabha Rao was a noted comedian of Telugu film industry. He was also a film producer and director. He was fondly called Padmanabham by his fans. He has directed 8 films in the industry and introduced playback singer S.P. Balasubrahmanyam to the film industry through Sri Sri Sri Maryada Ramanna. He shared a unique friendship with other comedians of the industry during the same period, particularly with Relangi, Balakrishna and Siva Rao. He continually practised yoga during the last 50 years of his life and died on February 20, 2010 aged 78. Chakram and Tata Birla Madhyalo Laila are his last releases.
He was born on August 20, 1931 to Santham and Basavaraju Venkata Seshaiah in Simhadripuram, Pulivendula, Kadapa. He was active in theatre activities before joining films though he earned instant fame through movie media. He co-founded a theatre group with his friend Vallam Narasimha Rao, Rekha and Murali Arts. He joined film industry at the age of just 12 when he was offered a role by legendary director Gudavalli Ramabrahmam. The movie was Mayalokham released in 1943. After that he stayed in the industry till the last phase of his life, completing 400 movies.
His major hits were with national award winning film maker, K. V. Reddy. Shavukaru in 1949 was his first major hit, which established Basavaraju Venkata Padmanabha Rao as a comedian of the industry. The following year, Patala Bhairavi gave him a permanent place in the film world. Yet, he had no godfathers in the industry. He had a unique talent to sing and imitate any actor of those days which helped him a lot. Padmanabham died in Chennai on 20 February 2010 following a heart attack.
Published: N/A
Updated: January 30, 2014
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