The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Cultural icon stands ignored

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jul 28, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Cultural icon stands ignored

T. Ramakrishnan

The statue of Chittoor V. Nagaiah, Telugu and Tamil film artiste, is in a sorry state

Chittoor V. Nagaiah's statue at Pangal Park, T. Nagar. — Photo: K.V. Srinivasan

CHENNAI: Hidden in a corner of Panagal Park, T. Nagar is the statue of a man who contributed immensely to art and culture.

He is Chittoor V. Nagaiah (1904-73), veteran Telugu and Tamil film artiste.

Born in Repalle, Guntur in Andhra Pradesh, Nagaiah moved to Chittoor. He later moved to Chennai to start his career as a stage artiste. In the early days, he worked with the Surbahi Theatre Group and Chennapuri Andhra Mahasabha.

His big break came in in 1938 when he got a chance to act in the Telugu movie, Grihalakshmi. For the next two decades, he was a much sought-after artiste, acting in both Tamil and Telugu films.

He played the role of the Emperor Ashoka in the Tamil movie Ashokkumar (1941) in which M.K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar, another celebrated artiste, played his son. Nagaiah's performances in Vande Mataram (1939), Bhaktha Puttana (1942), Thyagayya (1946) — all in Telugu — and Meera (1945), Chakradhari (1948), Ezhai Padum Padu (1950) and Ethirparadhuthu (1954) were noteworthy.

It was during this time that Nagaiah established the Sri Thyaga Brahma Gana Sabha to "quench the thirst" of T. Nagar residents for classical music. Nagaiah's film career continued till his death in December 1973. After his death, Telugu film artistes installed a statue of Nagaiah. In December 1979, V.V. Giri, the former President, unveiled the statue at Panagal Park.

Today, the area near the statue is littered and is being used as a public toilet.

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