Chilakalapudi Seeta Rama Anjaneyulu (11 July 1907 – 8 October 1963), popularly known as C. S. R., was an Indian

method actor ''Method Actor'' is an eponymous album of the band Method Actor released in 1988 featuring American singer Eva Cassidy. It was unofficially re-released on CD in 2002. Track listing # "Getting Out" (David Christopher) – 4:19 # "Look in to My ...

, and thespian best known for his works in

Telugu cinema Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood, is the segment of Cinema of India, Indian cinema dedicated to the production of Film, motion pictures in the Telugu language, widely spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Based in Film N ...

, and Telugu theater. He acted in many stage dramas and portrayed lead characters and mythological roles in over 175 movies. He was one of the lead actors of his time. Anjaneyulu was an established lead actor by the late 1930s, preceding the entrance of actors such as NTR and

ANR ANR may refer to: People * Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Indian actor and producer in Telugu cinema Places * Akkineni Nageswara Rao College, sometimes called ANR College, in Gudivada, Andhra Pradesh, India * Antwerp International Airport (IATA code) E ...

. His performance in the super-hit ''Bhaktha Ramadasu'' in 1937 won him many accolades. In the 1950s, starting with ''

Pathala Bhairavi ''Pathala Bhairavi'' () is a 1951 Indian fantasy film directed by K. V. Reddy who co-wrote the film with Pingali and Kamalakara Kameswara Rao. Shot simultaneously in Telugu and Tamil languages, the film was produced by Nagi Reddi and Chakra ...

'' screened at the first

International Film Festival of India The International Film Festival of India (IFFI), founded in 1952, is an annual film festival currently held in Goa, on the western coast of India. The festival aims at providing a common platform for the cinemas of the world to project the excel ...

, he began acting in character roles. In ''Pathala Bhairavi'', he plays a king worried about his daughter, a princess kidnapped by a wicked magician played by Ranga Rao. He was noted for portraying mythological and historical roles such as

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

, Ramadasu, Sarangadhara, Bhavani Sankar,

Tukaram Tukaram (Marathi pronunciation: ̪ukaːɾam, also known as Tuka, Tukobaraya and Tukoba, was a Hindu Marathi saint of the Warkari sampradaya in Dehu village, Maharashtra in the 17th century. He was a '' bhakt'' of the god Vithoba, also kn ...

and Satyavantha. He also acted as Lord Venkateswara in '' Sri Venkateswara Mahatyam'', one of director P. Pulliah's first successful films. In the 1953 film '' Devadasu'', he portrayed an aged widower

zamindar A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian was the official language; ''zamindar'' is the ...

, alongside Savitri, who acts as his wife. His other acclaimed character roles include Sakuni (a character from

Mahabharatha The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kurukshetra War, a war of succes ...

) in ''

Mayabazar ''Mayabazar'' () is a 1957 Indian epic film, epic Hindu mythological film directed by K. V. Reddy. It was produced by Nagi Reddi and Chakrapani (filmmaker), Chakrapani under their banner, Vijaya Vauhini Studios, Vijaya Productions. The film w ...

''. His other acclaimed acting credits include '' Rojulu Marayi'', ''Gruhapravesam'', ''

Illarikam ''Illarikam'' () is a 1959 Indian Telugu-language comedy drama film directed by T. Prakash Rao. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Jamuna and music composed by T. Chalapathi Rao. It was produced by A. V. Subba Rao under the Prasad Art Pictures ...

'', '' Kanyasulkam'' and ''

Appu Chesi Pappu Koodu ''Appu Chesi Pappu Koodu'' () is a 1959 Indian Telugu-language comedy drama film directed and co-written by L. V. Prasad. The film was produced by Nagi Reddi and Chakrapani of Vijaya Productions; the latter co-wrote its script with Prasad ...

''. His directorial credits include the 1939 allegorical melodrama, ''Jayapradha''.

Early life

He was born on 11 July 1907 in a Telugu family at Chilakalapudi near

Machilipatnam Machilipatnam (), also known as Masulipatnam and Bandar (), is a city in Krishna district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipal corporation and the administrative headquarters of Krishna district. It is also the Tehsil, mandal ...

in Andhra Pradesh. His father, Lakshmi Narasimha Murthy, used to work in Revenue department. He later moved to

Ponnur Ponnur is a major city/town in the Guntur district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. A road to Chandole goes south-east and comes to Nidubrolu, where there is a temple with a stone-bearing inscription recording the erection of 90 temples ...

Guntur district Guntur district is one of the twenty six districts in the Coastal Andhra region of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The administrative seat of the district is located at Guntur, the List of urban agglom ...

. After school final studies, he worked as a co-operative supervisor for some time. Instead of pursuing further studies, he choose to enter the field of drama. In a short time, he reached a position comparable to

Sthanam Narasimha Rao Sthanam Narasimha Rao, popularly known as Sthanam (23 September 1902 – 21 February 1971), was an Indian actor known for his works in Telugu theatre and Telugu cinema. He was known for playing female characters and was a recipient of a Padma Sri ...

, ''D. V. Subba Rao'', Parupalli, Addanki and others. He played Sri Krishna in ''Sri Krishna Tulabaram'' and ''Radhakrishna'', Ramadas in ''Bhakta Ramadasu'' and Tukaram in ''Bhakta Tukaram'', which got him wide recognition. He was also a natural singer, particularly in poems. He was a national activist. He directed and produced ''Patita Pavana'', a drama on

Untouchability Untouchability is a form of social institution that legitimises and enforces practices that are discriminatory, humiliating, exclusionary and exploitative against people belonging to certain social groups. Although comparable forms of discrimin ...

. He contributed to the

Indian National Army The Indian National Army (INA, sometimes Second INA; ''Azad Hind Fauj'' ; 'Free Indian Army') was a Empire of Japan, Japanese-allied and -supported armed force constituted in Southeast Asia during World War II and led by Indian Nationalism#An ...

Subhas Chandra Bose Subhas Chandra Bose (23 January 1897 – 18 August 1945) was an Indian independence movement, Indian nationalist whose defiance of British raj, British authority in India made him a hero among many Indians, but his wartime alliances with ...

collected through donations by playing his ''Tukaram'' drama.

Personal life

He had two younger sisters and two younger brothers. One brother, C. S. Nageswara Rao, was the assistant director for movies including

Suvarna Sundari ''Suvarna Sundari'' () is a 1957 Indian Telugu language, Telugu-language swashbuckler film directed by Vedantam Raghavayya. It stars Anjali Devi and Akkineni Nageswara Rao (credited as Nageswara Rao) with music composed by P. Adinarayana Rao. Th ...

Gunasundari Katha ''Gunasundari Katha'' () is a 1949 Indian Telugu language fantasy film produced and directed by K. V. Reddy, starring Sriranjani, Kasturi Siva Rao, Santha Kumari. The script was written by Pingali Nagendra Rao, K. V. Reddy, and Kamalakara ...

and

. Another brother, C. Venkata Rathnam (better known as C. V. Rathnam), was with Bharani Pictures & Studios and was the production manager for all the films produced by actress

Bhanumathi Ramakrishna P. Bhanumathi Ramakrishna (7 September 1925 – 24 December 2005) was an Indian actress, singer, film producer, director, music composer, and novelist. She is regarded as the first female super star of Telugu cinema. She is also considered the ...

Filmography

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chilakalapudi, Seeta Rama Anjaneyulu Male actors in Telugu cinema 1907 births 1963 deaths Telugu film directors People from Machilipatnam Actors from Krishna district 20th-century Indian male actors Male actors from Andhra Pradesh Telugu male actors Indian male stage actors Andhra University alumni Indian male film actors Film directors from Andhra Pradesh Male actors in Malayalam cinema