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Rattihalli Nagendra Rao (23 June 1896 – 9 February 1977) was an Indian theatre actor, film actor and director in
South Indian cinema 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 ...
. Following his career in theatre, Rao turned to film a where he became an actor, director, producer, screenwriter and occasional composer. He is considered one of the most influential personalities in the history of South Indian cinema. For his performance in '' Hannele Chiguridaga'' (1968), Rao won the
Karnataka State Film Award for Best Actor Karnataka State Film Award for Best Actor is a state film award of the Indian state of Karnataka given during the annual Karnataka State Film Awards. The award honours Kannada Language films. Superlatives Recipients The first recipient was ...
. Recognized for his contributions to cinema, he was awarded the
Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is confe ...
by the
Government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
in 1976. Rao had four children, three of whom were involved in film. His second son, R. N. K. Prasad, was a cinematographer, his third son,
R. N. Jayagopal R. N. Jayagopal (1935 – 19 May 2008) was an Indian film director and lyricist in Kannada cinema. He had written over 12,000 film songs. Early life and education R. N. Jayagopal, known to friends and fans as RNJ, was born in 1935 to R. N ...
, a screenwriter and lyricist and his youngest, R. N. Sudarshan, an actor.


Early life

Nagendra Rao was born on 23 June 1896, in Holalkere, in
Kingdom of Mysore The Kingdom of Mysore was a realm in southern India, traditionally believed to have been founded in 1399 in the vicinity of the modern city of Mysore. From 1799 until 1950, it was a princely state, until 1947 in a subsidiary alliance with Brit ...
of
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 ...
.


Career

Rao began his career as an actor in
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 ...
, performing in plays written in the Kannada language at the age of eight. As a child, he portrayed divine female characters such as
Sita Sita (; ) also called as Janaki and Vaidehi is a Hindu goddess and the female protagonist of the Hindu epic, '' Ramayana''. She is the consort of Rama, the avatar of the god Vishnu, and is regarded as a form of Vishnu's consort, Lakshmi ...
and historical characters such as Chandramathi and Desdemona. He then switched to male roles, his work proving popular in the erstwhile
Kingdom of Mysore The Kingdom of Mysore was a realm in southern India, traditionally believed to have been founded in 1399 in the vicinity of the modern city of Mysore. From 1799 until 1950, it was a princely state, until 1947 in a subsidiary alliance with Brit ...
and the non-Kannada speaking
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 th ...
. In theatre, he worked with A. V. Varadacharya's Ratnavali Drama Company and Chamundeshwari company, in
Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...
. With the beginning of the talking films era in India in 1931, Rao left for
Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the '' de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the sec ...
(now Mumbai). There, he was cast by actor and director
P. K. Raja Sandow Raja Sandow (born P. K. Nagalingam) was an Indian film actor, film director and producer. He began his career as an actor in silent films and later became a prominent actor and director in Tamil and Hindi films of the 1930s. He is considered to ...
in the
Tamil language Tamil (; ' , ) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. Tamil is an official language of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the sovereign nations of Sri Lanka and Singapore, and the Indian territory of Pud ...
films ''Parijata Pushpaharanam'' (1932), ''Narada'' (1932), ''Kovalan'' (1933) and the
Telugu language Telugu (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken by Telugu people predominantly living in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where it is also the official language. It is the most widely spoken member of the Dravidian language f ...
film ''Ramadasu'' (1933). Rao appeared in lead roles in the latter two. Following a stint in film, Rao returned to
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 ...
and founded the Shri Sahitya Samrajya Nataka Mandali (Shri Sahitya Samrajya Drama Company) with
Subbaiah Naidu Mysore Venkatappa Subbaiah Naidu (1896 – 21 July 1962) was an Indian stage artiste in the silent movies era. He was an actor and director, well known for the movies '' Sati Sulochana'' (1934) in Kannada, which was also the first Kannada tal ...
, an actor and director, who would go on to influence Kannada cinema greatly. To realize his dream of making a film written in Kannada, he approached Shah
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 was f ...
, a Bangalore businessman, to finance it. With Doongaji choosing
Yaragudipati Varada Rao Yaragudipati Varada Rao (Telugu: యెర్రగుడిపాటి వరదరావు; 30 May 1903 – 13 February 1979) was an Indian director, producer, actor, screenwriter, and editor known for his works primarily in Telugu, Kannada, ...
to direct the film, the first talking film in Kannada, ''
Sati Sulochana ''Sati Sulochana'' is a 1934 Indian Kannada-language film directed by Y. V. Rao. The film was released on 3 March 1934 and is the first talkie film in Kannada language.
,'' was made and finally released on 3 March 1934. Rao played the role of
Ravana Ravana (; , , ) is a rakshasa king of the island of Lanka, and the chief antagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana'' and its adaptations. In the ''Ramayana'', Ravana is described to be the eldest son of sage Vishrava and rakshasi Kaikesi. ...
in the film, and scored the music. His first film as a director came in the 1943 film '' Satya Harishchandra'', which he also produced and starred in. Rao's play ''Bhukailasa'' was thrice made into films; in 1938 and 1940 by
Sundar Rao Nadkarni Sundar Rao Nadkarni was an Indian film actor, editor, cinematographer, producer and director. He was the director of the first hit film for AVM productions Bhookails in Telugu in the year 1940, and later the record-creating Tamil film '' Haridas ...
, and in 1958 by K. Shankar. It was in this play that Rajkumar, who would go on to become one of Kannada cinema's finest actors, made his breakthrough as a theatre actor, playing the role 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 ...
. In 1951, Rao formed his own film production company, RNR Pictures. The 1957 film ''
Premada Putri ''Premada Putri'' is a 1957 Indian Kannada-language film, directed, produced and enacted by R. Nagendra Rao. Besides Nagendra Rao, the film stars Udayakumar, Sandhya and Gummadi. R. N. K. Prasad was introduced in this film. The film won the ...
'' was produced under this banner and Rao directed it, also playing a supporting role in the film. At the
5th National Film Awards The 5th National Film Awards, formerly the State Awards for Films, were a set of awards presented by the Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to recognize the best Indian films of 1957. The ceremony took place at Vigyan Bhavan, N ...
, the film was awarded the Best Feature Film in Kannada. The production company existed until 1964. Following this, he appeared in the roles of a father in films such as ''Shri Kannika Parameshwari Kathe'' (1966) and '' Karulina Kare'' (1970). For his role in his 1968 film '' Hannele Chiguridaga'', that co-stars Rajkumar, he won the
Karnataka State Film Award for Best Actor Karnataka State Film Award for Best Actor is a state film award of the Indian state of Karnataka given during the annual Karnataka State Film Awards. The award honours Kannada Language films. Superlatives Recipients The first recipient was ...
. His last appearance came in the 1974 film ''
Professor Huchuraya ''Professor Huchuraya'' is a 1974 Indian Kannada-language comedy-drama film directed by M. R. Vittal and produced by actor Narasimharaju. The story is written by Narendra Babu. Besides Narasimharaju as the protagonist, the film features Vishn ...
''.


Filmography


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rao, Nagendra R. 1896 births 1977 deaths Place of death missing Kannada male actors Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts