Tadepalli Lakshmi Kantha Rao (16 November 1923 – 22 March 2009) was an Indian actor and producer known for his works predominantly in

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

. Regarded as one of the finest

method actor Method ( grc, μέθοδος, methodos) literally means a pursuit of knowledge, investigation, mode of prosecuting such inquiry, or system. In recent centuries it more often means a prescribed process for completing a task. It may refer to: *Scien ...

s, Rao starred in more than four hundred feature films in a variety of genres including mythological, social and folklore. He has also acted in a few

Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

, and

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...

movies. He has produced about five films under the Hyma Films banner. In the 1960s, he was one of the primary actors in Telugu cinema, along with

N. T. Rama Rao Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (28 May 1923 – 18 January 1996), often referred to by his initials NTR, was an Indian actor, filmmaker and politician who served as List of Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh fo ...

and

Akkineni Nageswara Rao Akkineni Nageswara Rao (20 September 1923 – 22 January 2014), widely known as ANR, was an Indian actor and producer, known for his works majorly in Telugu cinema. He starred in many landmark films in his seventy five-year career, and became on ...

. Kantha Rao was known for portraying the roles of

Narada Narada ( sa, नारद, ), or Narada Muni, is a sage divinity, famous in Hindu traditions as a travelling musician and storyteller, who carries news and enlightening wisdom. He is one of mind-created children of Brahma, the creator god. He ...

Lord Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one of ...

and Arjuna. He played

Lakshmana Lakshmana ( sa, लक्ष्मण, lit=the fortunate one, translit=Lakṣmaṇa), also spelled as Laxmana, is the younger brother of Rama and his loyalist in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He bears the epithets of Saumitra () and Ramanuja () ...

in the blockbuster film '' Lava Kusa'', for which he received ''Vishehsa Puraskaram'' in 1963.

Early life

Rao was born to Kesavarao and Seetaramamma at

Kodad Kodad is a town in Suryapet district of the Indian state of Telangana. It is a municipality and the mandal headquarters of Kodad mandal in Kodad revenue division. It lies on the National Highway 65 between Hyderabad and Vijayawada. It is 44&nbs ...

Nalgonda district Nalgonda district is a district in the Telangana state of India. Nalgonda district has the highest number of mandals in the state with 31 mandals. The district shares boundaries with Suryapet, Rangareddy, Yadadri and Nagarkurnool districts an ...

in present-day

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and 3 ...

on 16 November 1923. According to the

Hindu calendar The Hindu calendar, Panchanga () or Panjika is one of various lunisolar calendars that are traditionally used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, with further regional variations for social and Hindu religious purposes. They adopt a ...

, it corresponds to Rudhirodgari Samvatsara Kartika Sudha Ashtami day. He lost his father the next year. His primary education was done in Gudibanda and

Khammam Khammam formally (Khammam Mettu) is the city in Khammam district of the Indian state of Telangana. It is the fourth largest city in the state. It is the headquarters of the Khammam district and Khammam mandal also. It is located about east of ...

. He was exposed to puranas and Hindu epic stories from his grandmother.

Career

Surabhi Drama troupe has visited their village. Impressed by their professional performances, he established "Balamitra Natya Mandali" and used to play ''

Gayopakhyanam ''Gayopakhyanam'' ( Telugu: గయోపాఖ్యానం) is a Telugu play written by Chilakamarti Lakshmi Narasimham in 1890. It is also called Prachanda Yadavam (The story of fierce Yadava King - Sri Krishna). This play is the forerunner ...

'' and ''Madhuseva'' plays with his friends. He played the character Brahma in ''Sri Krishna Leelalu'' in the group "Surabhi" and subsequently in the plays ''Madhuseva'', ''Kanakatara'' and ''Telugu Talli''. Rao was sent to

Tenali Tenali is a city in Guntur district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipality and the headquarters of Tenali mandal and Tenali revenue division. The city is renowned for art, culture, drama and hence, it is called ''Andhra ...

to deviate from the drama activities. Tenali used to be very active in drama activities with stalwarts like Pulipati Lakshminarayana. He used to stay in same street where Rentachintala Satyanarayana and

Banda Kanakalingeswara Rao Banda Kanakalingeswara Rao (20 January 1907 – 3 December 1968) was an Indian actor known for his works in Telugu theatre, and Telugu cinema. He was the member of Kendriya Sangeet Natak Akademi since 1952 and Andhra Pradesh Sangeet Natak Akade ...

used to live. He then shifted to Madras in 1950 and used stay with T. Krishnamachari, who used to work as assistant director for H. M. Reddy's Rohini Pictures. H. M. Reddy gave him chance to play a small role in '' Nirdoshi'' in 1951 and as his hero for ''Pratigna'' in 1953. He has acted in 450 films and in about 100 films as hero, whereas in others as different character roles. They include some popular roles in films like '' Jayasimha'' (1955), '' Shri Krishna Pandaviyam'' (1966), ''Guruvunu Minchina Sishyudu'' (1963), '' Lava Kusha'' (1963), ''

Nartanasala Nartanasala may refer to: * Nartanasala (1963 film) ''Nartanasala'' () is a 1963 Indian Telugu-language Hindu mythological film directed by Kamalakara Kameswara Rao and written by Samudrala Sr. It stars N. T. Rama Rao, Savitri, S. V. Ranga ...

'' (1963), '' Pandava Vanavasam'' (1965) and '' Muthyala Muggu'' (1975). His last movie was ''

Pandurangadu ''Pandurangadu'' is 2008 Telugu-language biographical film, based on the life of ''Pundarika'', produced by K. Krishna Mohana Rao on R. K. Film Associates banner, directed by K. Raghavendra Rao. Starring Nandamuri Balakrishna, Sneha, Tabu and ...

'', with Balakrishna, directed by

K. Raghavendra Rao Kovelamudi Raghavendra Rao (born 23 May 1942) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema besides having directed a few Hindi films. He has garnered four state Nandi Awards and fiv ...

in 2008. He made four films in between 1969 and 1974, '' Saptaswaralu'', ''Gandara Gandadu'', ''Premajeevulu'' and ''Gundelu Theesina Monagadu'' and lost all his previous earnings. The last film he made was ''Swathi Chinukulu''. Subsequently, he shifted to

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...

Awards

;National honours * Visesha Puraskaram in

Ramineni Foundation Awards The Ramineni Foundation was founded in 1995 by the children of the late Ramineni Ayyanna Choudary in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA for the purpose of protecting and promoting the monumental heritage of Indian culture and the ideals of Hinduism. In addi ...

in 2004. * Mahanati Savitri Award * C.H. Narayana Rao Award ;

Nandi Awards The Nandi Awards are the awards that recognise the excellence in Telugu cinema, Telugu theatre and Telugu television, and Lifetime achievements in Indian cinema. Presented annually by the Government of Andhra Pradesh, the award is named after ...

Raghupathi Venkaiah Award The Raghupathi Venkaiah Naidu Award is an award issued by the Indian state government of Andhra Pradesh, to recognise lifetime achievements in Telugu cinema. The award was introduced in 1981 in honour of Raghupathi Venkaiah Naidu, a pioneer of t ...

by the government of

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

in 2000, for lifetime achievement. * Nandi Award for Best Book, for ''Anaganaga Oka Raakumaarudu'' won for the year 2007.

Filmography

Actor

Producer

* '' Saptaswaralu'' (1969) * '' Gandara Gandadu'' (1969) * '' Premajeevulu'' (1971) * '' Gundelu Teesina Monagaadu'' (1974) * '' Swaati Chinukulu'' (1989)

Personal

Rao was married to Suseela and had a daughter in 1942. The daughter died of smallpox during infancy. They had a son in 1945 named after his father as Keshav. He married Hymavathi in 1950 and subsequently Suseela died of illness. His son also died of typhoid fever in his childhood. He has four sons and a daughter by Hymavathi, named Pratap, Keshav, Suseela, Raja and Satyam, in that order. His son Raja (Rajeswara Rao) has acted in '' Sudigundalu'', ''Prema Jeevulu'', ''Gandara Gandadu'', ''Gundelu Teesina Monagadu'', ''Swati Chinukulu'', ''Ukku Pidugu'', ''Rajasimha'', ''Evaru Monagadu'', ''Maro Prapancham'' and ''Manushulu Matti Bommalu''. His son Satyam also has acted in ''Saptaswaralu'', ''Prema Jeevulu'' and ''Gandara Gandadu''. His grandson Sai Eshwar also worked as child artist in Television industry.

Death

He died at 9:50 PM IST at Yashoda Hospital, Hyderabad on 22 March 2009 due to cancer complications.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rao, Tadepalli Lakshmi Kanta 1923 births 2009 deaths Deaths from liver cancer Deaths from cancer in India Telugu male actors Male actors from Telangana Male actors in Telugu cinema Indian male film actors Male actors in Tamil cinema Male actors in Kannada cinema Male actors in Hindi cinema Male actors in Malayalam cinema Film producers from Telangana Nandi Award winners Recipients of the Rashtrapati Award People from Nalgonda 20th-century Indian male actors 21st-century Indian male actors