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 Cent ...

and

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, ...

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

Padma Sri 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 conferre ...

Award. His depiction of the

Sringara Sringara ( sa, शृङ्गार, ) 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 i ...

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 Gurajada Venkata Apparao (21 September 1862 – 30 November 1915) was an Indian playwright, dramatist, poet, and writer known for his works in Telugu theatre. Rao wrote the play ''Kanyasulkam'' in 1892, which is considered as the greatest play ...

's comedy ''

Kanyasulkam ''Kanyasulkam'' is a Telugu play written by Gurajada Apparao in 1892.20th Century Telugu Luminaries, Potti Sriramulu Telugu University, Hyderabad, 2005 It is one of the earliest modern works in an Indian language, and it is the first Telugu play ...

''. Sthanam had over 1,500 performances to his credit. His productions of classics on

All India Radio All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All ...

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

Satyabhama Satyabhama, also known as Satrajiti, is a Hindu goddess and the third queen-consort of the Hindu god Krishna. Satyabhama is described as the incarnation of Bhudevi, the goddess and the personification of the earth. She aided Krishna in defeat ...

'' 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 ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military governme ...

and gifted golden crown in 1938. His ''

Sashtipoorti Shashti Poorti is a Sanskrit word meaning completion of sixty. Also known also as "Shashti Abda Poorti" or "Ugraratha Santi"is a Hindu ceremony celebrating the 60th birthday of a male, akin to the renewal of marital vows. Etymology Shashti Poor ...

'' was grandly celebrated in 1962 at

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 (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

Early life

He was born in 1902 at

Bapatla Bapatla is a city 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 ...

Guntur district Guntur district is one of the twenty six districts in the Coastal Andhra region of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The administrative seat of the district is located at Guntur, the largest city of the district in terms of area and with a ...

to Hanumantha Rao and Ademma. He entered the theatre in 1920 and, rigorously trained by Veeraraghava Swamy, played for the

Rama Vilasa Sabha Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular ''avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Being ...

of nearby Tenali. For nearly four decades (1924–60).

Death

He died in 1971.

Awards

* He was recipient of

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 ...

from Government of India in 1956. * He received the

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IPA: 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 recognit ...

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 People from Guntur district Telugu male actors Andhra University alumni Male actors in Telugu theatre