Gummadi Venkateswara Rao (born 9 July 1926 – 26 January 2010), known mononymously by his

surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

Gummadi, was an Indian actor and producer, who worked predominantly 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 ...

. Known as one of the finest supporting/character actors in Telugu cinema, Gummadi acted in around five hundred feature films. He received critical recognition for his work in '' Thodu Dongalu'' (1954) and '' Mahamantri Timmarusu'' (1962), for which he received the erstwhile Rashtrapati Award. Gummadi was an official member of the Indian delegation from South India to the ''Tashkent Film Festival'' in 1978 and 1982. Gummadi served as a jury member thrice for the 28th, 33rd and 39th National Film Awards. He served twice on the state

Nandi Awards The Nandi Awards are annual awards presented by the Government of Andhra Pradesh to recognise excellence in Telugu cinema, theatre, and television, as well as lifetime achievements in Indian cinema. The awards are named after the monolithic ...

Committee. In 1977, he was awarded India's fourth-highest civilian honor

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

for his contribution to

Indian cinema The cinema of India, consisting of motion pictures made by the Indian film industry, has had a large effect on world cinema since the second half of the 20th century. Indian cinema is made up of various film industries, each focused on p ...

. He is widely known for his roles in films such as '' Mayabazar'' (1957), '' Maa Inti Mahalakshmi'' (1959), ''Kula Daivam'' (1960), '' Kula Gothralu'' (1962), '' Jyothi'' (1976), '' Nelavanka'' (1981), '' Maro Malupu'' (1982), ''Ekalavya'' (1982), ''Ee Charitra Ye Siraatho?'' (1982), ''Gaaju Bommalu'' (1983) and '' Pelli Pustakam'' (1991). In 2008, he starred in ''Jagadguru Sree Kasinayana Charitra'', which would be his last film.

Early career

Characters played by him

Balarama Balarama (, ) is a Hindu god, and the elder brother of Krishna. He is particularly significant in the Jagannath tradition, as one of the triad deities. He is also known as Haladhara, Halayudha, Baladeva, Balabhadra, and Sankarshana. The fir ...

Bhishma Bhishma (), also known as Pitamaha, Gangaputra, and Devavrata, is a central figure in the Hindu epic Mahabharata. He was a statesman and military commander of the ancient Kuru Kingdom. Renowned for his wisdom, valor, and unwavering principles, ...

* Maharishi Bhrigu *

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...

* Dasharatha * Diwan * Durvasa * Jamadagni * Kabir * Karna * Kasinayana * Nanda *

Parashurama Parashurama (), also referred to as Rama Jamadagnya, Rama Bhargava and Virarama, is the sixth avatar among the Dashavatara of the preserver god Vishnu in Hinduism. Hindu tradition holds him to be the destroyer of the evil on Earth. According t ...

* Pothana * Principal * Timmarusu *

Vishwamitra Vishvamitra (, ) is one of the most venerated rishis or sages of ancient India. Vishvamitra is one of the seven Brahmarshi. According to Hindu tradition, he is stated to have written most of the Mandala 3 of the Rigveda, including the Ga ...

Yudhishthira Yudhishthira (Sanskrit: युधिष्ठिर, ud̪ʱiʂʈʰiɾᵊ IAST: ''Yudhiṣṭhira''), also known as Dharmaputra, is the eldest among the five Pandavas, and is also one of the central characters of the ancient Indian epic ''Ma ...

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 ...

Personal life

Gummadi was married and had five daughters and two sons. He died of

multiple organ failure Multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) is altered organ function in an acutely ill patient requiring immediate medical intervention. There are different stages of organ dysfunction for certain different organs, both in acute and in chronic ...

at Care hospital,

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

on 26 January 2010. His last public appearance was at the screening of '' Maya Bazar'', which had been colourised. Here he expressed his happiness and said, "Watching this great movie in colour probably could have been the only reason for me to have stayed alive for so long."

Written works

Gummadi wrote his memoirs of Telugu cinema in ''Teepi Gurthulu and Chedu Gnapakalu''.

Awards

;Civilian honors *

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

- 1977 ; Rashtrapati Awards *Best acting for '' Mahamantri Timmarusu'' (1963) ;

* Raghupathi Venkaiah Award for contribution to Telugu cinema (1998) * Nandi Award for Best Supporting Actor - '' Maro Malupu'' (1982) ;Other Honors *1963 - Honorary Doctorate - Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University *1976 - Filmfare Special Award for Excellent Performance - '' Jyothi''

Selected filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gummadi 1928 births 2010 deaths Indian male film actors Telugu male actors Male actors in Telugu cinema Male actors in Tamil cinema Male actors in Kannada cinema Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Film producers from Andhra Pradesh Nandi Award winners Filmfare Awards South winners Recipients of the Rashtrapati Award 20th-century Indian male actors Deaths from multiple organ failure Male actors from Andhra Pradesh Actors from Guntur district