Sthanam Narasimha Rao, popularly known as Sthanam (23 September 1902 – 21 February 1971), was an Indian actor known for his works in

Telugu theatre Telugu theatre is Indian theatre in the Telugu language, based in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Gurajada Apparao wrote the play, '' Kanyasulkam'' in 1892, which is often considered the greatest play in the Telugu language.20th Ce ...

and

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 ...

. He was known for playing female characters and was a recipient of a

Padma Sri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), 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 ...

Award. His depiction of the

Sringara Sringara (, ) is one of the nine rasas, usually translated as erotic love, romantic love, or as attraction or beauty. ''Rasa'' means "flavour", and the theory of rasa is the primary concept behind classical Indian arts including theatre, music, ...

rasa as Satyabhama in ''Srikrishna tulabharam'' kept audiences spellbound. Equally enchanting performances in ''Roshanara'', Deva Devi in ''Vipranarayana'' and the eponymous ''Chintamani'' made his place in Telugu theater permanent. His most memorable acting, however, was as Madhuravani in Gurajada Appa Rao's comedy '' Kanyasulkam''. Sthanam had over 1,500 performances to his credit. His productions of classics on

All India Radio All India Radio (AIR), also known as Akashvani (), is India's state-owned public broadcasting, public radio broadcaster. Founded in 1936, it operates under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broa ...

include ''Kanyasulkam'' and ''Ganapati''. He acted in Telugu films such as ('' Radhakrishna'' in 1939 and ''

Satyabhama Satyabhama (IAST'': Satyabhāmā)'' , also known as Satrajiti, is a Hindu goddess and the third queen consort of the Hindu god Krishna. Satyabhama is described as an incarnation of Bhumi, an aspect of Lakshmi. She is the goddess and the per ...

'' in 1941) and authored a book about his vast acting experience entitled, ''Natasthanam''. He wrote the song 'Meerajalagalada' in the movie 'Sri Krishna Tulabharam'. He was felicitated in

Rangoon Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...

and gifted golden crown in 1938. His ''

Shashthipurti ''Shashthipurti'' () or ''Shashtyabdapurti'' () is a Hindu ceremony marking the completion of sixty years of age. It also marks the completion of half the years of one's lifetime in Hindu belief, as an age of one hundred and twenty years is consi ...

'' was grandly celebrated in 1962 at

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 ...

Early life

He was born in 1902 at

Bapatla Bapatla is a town and district headquarters of Bapatla district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipality and the mandal headquarters of Bapatla mandal of Bapatla revenue division. The nearest towns and cities to Bapatla are ...

Bapatla district Bapatla district is a district in coastal Andhra in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh (AP) established on 4 April 2022. The administrative headquarters are in Bapatla. The district is formed from parts of the erstwhile Prakasam district and G ...

to Hanumantha Rao and Ademma. He entered the theatre in 1920 and, rigorously trained by Veeraraghava Swamy, played for the Rama Vilasa Sabha of nearby Tenali. For nearly four decades (1924–60).

Death

He died in 1971.

Awards

* He was recipient of

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 ...

from Government of India in 1956. * He received the

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IAST: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recogni ...

for Acting in 1961. * He received Gajarohanam in Chennai

References

* Nata Ratnalu, Mikkilineni Radhakrishna Murthy, Second edition, 2002. * Luminaries of 20th Century, Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University, Hyderabad, 2005.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rao, Sthanam Narasimha Male actors in Telugu cinema Indian male stage actors Indian male film actors 1902 births 1971 deaths Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award 20th-century Indian male actors Male actors from Andhra Pradesh Actors from Guntur district Telugu male actors Andhra University alumni Male actors in Telugu theatre