Many film personalities visited S.V.R.'s mortal remains and offered silent tributes. They spoke to one another about his greatness as an actor in low tones and wiped their eyes.
I stood aside and watched the tragic scene, recollecting his iconic movies.
Gazing at his lifeless body, I remembered the incident when I requested for his autograph.
When I was about fifteen years old, I was an avid hunter of the autographs of celebrities.
Cine actors while returning from the movie studios, like Vajaya and Vauhini in Vadapalani, preferred the Rangarajapuram route as it was less congested compared to that of Kodambakkam.
But they had to wait at the level crossing until the train passed and the gate opened.
I prayed to God that the gate of the level crossing would be closed for a longer time so that I could collect the autographs of the actors in the parked cars.
Many a time God listened to my prayer, and the gate would close for long due to the slow running of the trains.
I spotted S.V.R.'s car and rushed to get his autograph. Mistaking the driver—who had a bald head and a hefty figure—for Ranga Rao, I held out my autograph book for his signature. The driver was confused and looked back.
S.V.R. understood my embarrassing situation and smiled at me. He signed in my autograph book, all the while speaking to the person, sitting next to him in chaste Tamil, though his mother tongue was Telugu. It was the most memorable incident in my life.
The proverb that “Failures are the stepping stones to success” is four hundred per cent true in S.V.R.’s case. Stardom was not a cakewalk for S.V.R. His first picture “Varudhini” (1946), directed by his relative B.V. Ramanandam, was a flop. Even he gave up his job to play the lead role in this movie. With the flop of his first film, he was disillusioned with the tinsel world and took up a job as a budget assistant with the Tata Company in Jemshedpur.
But acting was his first love. So he returned to the movie world again.
He excelled in the role of Nepala Mantrika (a sorcerer from Nepal) in the fantasy movie “Patala Bhairavi” (the goddess of the netherworld) in 1951. The film was directed by K.V. Reddy, and he was also the co-writer of the script along with Pingali Nagendra Rao and Kamalakara Kameswara Rao.
The picture was produced in both Telugu and Tamil languages by the “Vijaya Pictures”. S.V.R. performed the role of the Nepala Mantrikaa in both the versions.
Now producers and directors lined up at his residence to sign him up for their mythological, folklore and social films.
Yama, Ghatochkacha, Bhasmasura, Ravana and Hiranyakasipa were his iconic roles among his mythological films.
He played the memorable role of Yama in “Sati Savitri” (1957) and “Devanthakudu” (1960), the first socio-fantasy film in Telugu. He acted as Yama in the Tamil version of the same film titled “Naan Kanda Sorgam" (1957).
Yama (SVR) is engaged in a lengthy philosophical battle of words by Savitri, the virtuous wife of Satyavanth, who begs the god of death to give back the life of her husband.
He is acting as Ghatochkacha, the demon son of Bheema and a good Samaritan who helps his cousin Abhimanyu marry his love Sasirekha in the movie ‘Mayabazar’, and the song 'Vivaha bhojanambu' (What a sumptuous meal at the wedding)'—sung by Madhavapeddi Satyam as playback and performed on screen by SVR as Ghatotkacha—still reverberate in wedding venues even after seven decades
S.V.R. performed the same role in the Tamil version of “Mayabazar” also. But the song “Kalyana Samiyil Saadam" (sumtuous wedding meal) was sung by Tiruchi Loganathan. The demon Ghatochkacha’s action as a gourmand is highly entertaining.
He was reel Ravana in “Sati Sulochana” and "Sampoorna Ramayanam”” also.
He played the role of the demon emperor Bhasmasura in “Mohini Bhasmasura” with great ease. He obtained a boon from Lord Siva that any person would be reduced to ashes if he placed his hand on their head.
Bhasmasura wanted to test the boon on Lord Siva Himself. But Lord Vishnu came to His rescue. He engages the demon emperor in the guise of an enchantress, "Mohini", in a dance competition and makes him place his own hand on his head, as a result of which Bhasmasura reduces himself into ashes.
One of his most iconic roles was Keechaka in the movie Narthanasala (dance auditorium), which won him the best actor award in the third Afro-Asian Film Festival in Jakarta, Indonesia, in 1964. Keechaka was the commander-in-chief of the Matsya kingdom ruled by King Virata. He was also the king’s brother-in-law.
One of his iconic roles was Hiranyaksipa, the demon emperor in the movie “Bhaktha Prahlada". SVR simply lived in his role. In the climax scene, frustrated with his young son Prahlada’s devotion to his arch-enemy Lord Vishnu, Hiranyakasipa demands, "Where is Vishnu?" When Prahlada replies that Vishnu is everywhere—even in the pillar right in front of them—Hiranyakasipu smashes it, prompting Lord Narasimha to emerge from the shattered column and slay him.
S.V.R. and NTR held each other in high esteem and addressed each other “Bava,” (hey cousin) despite minor professional rivalries. It was reported in the film journals during the 1960s that Chitrapu Narayana Murthy, the director of the movie “Bhaktha Prahlada", first approached NTR for the role of Hiranyakasipu. But he declined the offer politely and suggested S.V.R.'s name instead.
S.V.R. acted as Kamsa, the demon king and the maternal uncle of Krishna in “Yasoda Krishna", which was released in 1975, six months after his death.
He had won many national awards for his acting skills. He received the Rashtrapati Award (the predecessor to the National Film Award for Best Actor) multiple times for his acting, including for Annai (1962), Sarada (1962 - Telugu), Naanum Oru Penn (1963), Karpagam (1963), and Nartanasala (1963). The movie “Bangaru Papa” was the most memorable among his social movies. Though he did not win the best actor award for this film, it received the President’s silver medal for the best feature film in Telugu. However, his acting as Kotayya, an iron smith, who adopts an orphan girl, won critical acclaim. His acting talent is at its peak when he refuses to part with his adopted daughter for money offered by the zameendar. The girl in question ultimately turns out to be the illegitimate child of Manohar (Jaggayya) and Santha (Jamuna). When Manohar declares that Papa (Krishnakumari) is his own daughter, the climax leads to a happy ending.
S.V.R. would have lived till his ripe age and acted in many more great films. However, drinking, smoking and restless work of an actor claimed his life at the age of 56.
He suffered a heart attack and was admitted into the Osmania General Hospital, Hyderabad.. The doctors advised him to quit smoking and drinking and take rest for some time. But he did not care. He suffered a heart attack for the second time in the same year and died before medical help arrived.
I paid my last respects to the mortal frame of the great actor and turned homewards.
