Yaragudipati Varada Rao (

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode ...

: యెర్రగుడిపాటి వరదరావు; 30 May 1903 – 13 February 1979) was an Indian director, producer, actor, screenwriter, and editor known for his works primarily in

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 ...

, and

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, na ...

films. Rao plunged into

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perfor ...

and did a few stage plays before moving to

Kolhapur Kolhapur () is a city on the banks of the Panchganga River in the southern part of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarter of the Kolhapur district. In, around 2 C.E. Kolapur's name was 'Kuntal'. Kolhapur is ...

and

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

to act in

silent films A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

. Rao started his career as a lead actor in many silent films such as ''Gajendra Moksham'' (1923), ''Garuda Garvabhangam'' (1929), and ''Rose of Rajasthan'' (1931). Regarded as one of the greatest filmmaking pioneers of the

Cinema of South India The Cinema of South India refers collectively to the six distinct film industries based in Southern region of India namely Tamil, Telugu, Tulu, Kannada, Konkani, and Malayalam. Although these industries developed independently for a long ...

, he made motion-pictures across Telugu,

, Konkani, and

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 ...

languages, apart from silent films. Rao made significant contributions to South cinema during the

British rule in India The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was hims ...

. Rao's 1934 film '' Sati Sulochana'' was the first talkie film in the Kannada language. In 1937, he directed the hagiographical classic '' Chintamani'', the Tamil

sleeper hit In the entertainment industry, a sleeper hit is a film, television series, music release, video game, or some other entertainment product that was initially unsuccessful on release but became a success later on. A sleeper hit may have little prom ...

ran for a year with highest estimated footfall at a single screen in India, and

British Ceylon British Ceylon ( si, බ්‍රිතාන්‍ය ලංකාව, Britānya Laṃkāva; ta, பிரித்தானிய இலங்கை, Biritthāṉiya Ilaṅkai) was the British Crown colony of present-day Sri Lanka between ...

. Rao's 1938 film ''Swarnalatha'' was one of the finest

political drama A political drama can describe a play, film or TV program that has a political component, whether reflecting the author's political opinion, or describing a politician or series of political events. Dramatists who have written political dramas i ...

scripted by Ayyalu Somayajulu; with

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholi ...

as the central theme, in which Rao played the lead. The film was shot extensively at Newtone Studios,

Kilpauk Kilpauk is a semi residential area located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. The distance from Chennai's city to Kilpauk is about 6 km. The region is situated off the Poonamallee High Road in the west. Adjacent areas of Kilpauk include Chetpe ...

, during

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency, or the Presidency of Fort St. George, also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision (presidency) of British India. At its greatest extent, the presidency included most of southern India, including the ...

. Rao's 1940 film, ''

Viswa Mohini ''Viswa Mohini'' () is a 1940 Telugu-language romantic thriller film in the backdrop of Indian motion picture world, directed by Y. V. Rao. The ensemble cast starring V. Nagayya was written by Balijepalli Lakshmikanta Kavi, and was screened at ...

'', is the first Indian film, depicting the Indian movie world, scripted by

Balijepalli Lakshmikanta Kavi Balijepalli Lakshmikantha Kavi (23 December 1881 – 30 June 1953) was an Indian playwright, novelist, poet, screenwriter, actor and freedom fighter. He is remembered for the magnum opus ''Satya Harischandriyamu'', a play written in 1924, and f ...

, starring V. Nagayya. Rao subsequently made the

mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narra ...

sequel films '' Savithiri'' (1941), and ''Sathyabhama'' (1942) casting thespian

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 S ...

Personal life

Yaragudipati Varada Rao was born in

Telugu Brahmin Telugu Brahmins are Brahmin communities native to the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. History Origin theories According to the ''Aitareya Brahmana'' of the Rigveda, the Andhras left north India from the banks of the River Yamuna ...

family of

Nellore Nellore is a city located on the banks of Penna River, in Nellore district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of the district, as well as Nellore mandal and Nellore revenue division. It is the fourth most p ...

in the then

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

in May 1903. In the late 1920s, he moved to

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

and ventured into

Kannada cinema Kannada cinema, also known as Sandalwood, or Chandanavana, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Kannada language widely spoken in the state of Karnataka. The 1934 film '' Sati Sulochana'' direct ...

. He married

Kumari Rukmini Kumari Rukmani (19 April 1929 – 4 September 2007), also known as Kumari Rukmini, was an Indian actress and dancer. She has acted in about 100 films in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi languages. Childhood She is the daughter of Nungambakkam Janaki, a ...

who was paired with him in ''

Lavangi ''Lavangi'' is a 1946 Indian Tamil-language film directed and produced by Y. V. Rao and written by P. R. Narayanan. It stars Y. V. Rao, Kumari Rukmani, B. R. Panthulu, B. Jayamma, K. Sarangapani, K. R. Chellam and T. R. Ramachandran. The film ...

'' (1946). Indian actress

Lakshmi Lakshmi (; , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism. She is the goddess of wealth, fortune, power, beauty, fertility and prosperity, and associated with '' Maya'' ("Illusion"). A ...

is their daughter.

Early career

Rao moved into film direction and made silent films such as ''Pandava Nirvan'' (1930), ''Pandava Agnathavaas'' (1930) and ''Hari Maya'' (1932). In 1932, a Marwari businessman,

Chamanlal Doongaji Chamanlal Doongaji was an Indian businessman, film producer and distributor known for producing the first-ever talking film in Kannada, '' Sati Sulochana''. He founded a film distribution company named ''South India Movietone'' in 1932. He wa ...

from

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

, launched South India ''Movie Tone''. The company made '' Sati Sulochana'', the first talking picture in

with an expense of . Rao directed this blockbuster film shot at Chatrapathi Cinetone, in Kolhapur; the shooting took eight weeks. He then directed ''Hari Maya'' (1932) that starred his first wife, Rajam.

Selected filmography

;As Director *1930: ''Pandava Agyathavas'' (silent) *1930: ''

Sarangadhara ''Sarangadhara'' is an epic story during the reign of Rajaraja Narendra. Gurajada Apparao wrote the story in long poetic form in English and published in "Indian Leisure Hour" in 1883. It was a favourite Telugu drama and made into South Indian f ...

'' (silent) *1932: ''Hari Maya'' (Kannada - Director) *1934: '' Sati Sulochana'' (Kannada - Cast) *1935: ''Naganand'' (Hindi) *1936: ''Bhama Parinayam'' (Tamil) *1937: ''Chintamani'' (Tamil) *1938: ''Bhakta Meera'' (Tamil) *1938: ''Swarnalatha'' (Tamil) *1939: '' Malli Pelli'' (Telugu - Cast) *1940: ''

'' (Telugu - Cast) *1941: ''Savithiri'' (Tamil - Cast, Singer) *1942: ''Sathyabhama'' (Telugu - Cast) *1944: ''Thasildar'' (Telugu - Cast) *1946: ''

'' (Tamil) *1948: ''Ramadas'' (Tamil) *1950: ''Jeevit Amche Ashe'' (Konkani) *1952: ''

Manavathi ''Manavathi'' is a 1952 Indian film produced in two language editions, Telugu & Tamil. The film was directed by Y. V. Rao. The film stars Mukkamala and Madhuri Devi. Cast List adapted from the database of Film News Anandan and from iMDB.(see ex ...

'' (Telugu-Tamil) *1953: ''Manjari'' (Telugu - Cast) *1956: ''Bhagya Chakra'' (Kannada) *1958: ''Sri Krishna Garudi'' (Telugu) *1961: ''Nagarjuna'' (Telugu-Kannada) *1963: ''Hennina Balu Kanneru'' (Kannada) ;As Producer - Telugu *1964: ''Thotalo Pilla Kotalo Rani'' *1965: ''Aakasa Ramanna'' *1966: ''Bhulokamlo Yamalokam'' *1966: ''Loguttu Perumaallu Keruka'' *1967: ''Devuni Gelichina Manavudu'' *1967: ''Gopaludu Bhupaludu'' *1968: ''Circar Express'' *1968: ''Pala Manasulu'' *1969: ''Ardharathri'' (Cast) *1969: ''Love in Andhra'' *1969: ''Takkari Donga Chakkani Chukka'' *1970: ''Paga Sadhistha'' *1971: ''Revolver Rani'' *1972: ''Monagadosthunnadu Jagratha''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yaragudipati, Varada Rao 1903 births 1979 deaths Indian male film actors Tamil film directors Telugu film editors Telugu film directors Kannada film producers Telugu film producers Nandi Award winners Kannada film directors Telugu screenwriters Indian editors Indian cinematographers Indian silent film directors 20th-century Indian male actors Male actors from Andhra Pradesh People from Nellore district Indian male stage actors Film producers from Andhra Pradesh Screenwriters from Andhra Pradesh Film directors from Andhra Pradesh 20th-century Indian film directors 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights Film editors from Andhra Pradesh Konkani-language film directors 20th-century Indian screenwriters