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"Keen observation helps"
KONDAVALASA LAKSHMANA RAO PHOTO: C.V.SUBRAHAMANYAM
"A keen observation of the affairs in day-to-day life is important for an artiste to be successful in his/her career. This piece of advice by Attili Krishna Rao of the Fine Arts Department of Andhra University keep ringing in my ears even today," says the veteran stage actor and comedian of Telugu films, Kondavalasa Lakshmana Rao.
Be it a scene at the public water tap where women vie with one another to fill the pot first or the usual tiff between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, an artiste has to observe everything very keenly so that he could enliven his/her role on the stage or on the screen.
Krishna Rao's words worked like magic on Kondavalasa and within a short span of time he had established himself as a stage artiste to reckon with. The connoisseurs can never forget his sterling performances in the plays, `Nijam', `Shidilalayam', `Tommy, Tommy', `Yuga Sandhya', `Turpu Rekhalu', `Repati Satruvu', `Indian Gas' and many more. He bagged the Nandi award twice and his portrayal of `Narasimha Panthulu' in `Navaragam' won accolades from the thespian, Akkineni Nageswara Rao.
"A stage actor will get to know the pulse of the audience immediately and can modify/correct himself/herself to suit their preferences. This instant feedback is not possible in films. Stage artistes neglect their family and work day in and day out to present their role in the best possible manner. Once the play becomes a success and the audience receives it with claps, the artistes forget all their problems and once again get ready for their next play," he says.
Kondavalasa, who had done his M.Com. and Diploma in Acting from AU, has a stage career spanning nearly four-and-a-half decades. Film director Vamsi saw him in the play `Allade maa vooru', when it was staged in Draksharamam in East Godavari district in 1998. Impressed by Kondavalasa's performance, Vamsi decided to cast him in his film.
It was finally in 2001 that Vamsi cast him in "Ounu valliddaru ishta paddaru". There was no looking back for him ever since. His dialogue in the film "Nenoppukonu - ite OK" became a big hit and his popularity spread across the length and breadth of the State. Little wonder that he is now referred to as `ite OK Lakshmana Rao'.
Kondavalasa, who has already done 30 films cherishes the roles he had played in `Sri Ramachandrudu', `Pellam to panenti', `Donga Ramudu and party' and `Satyam'. He is optimistic that the old glory of the stage will soon be revived and more and more stage artistes, who prove themselves, will soon make it to the big screen.
"The great film stars of yesteryears like the late S.V. Ranga Rao and Anjali Devi were from the stage and they had made it big in films," he recalls. Though stage experience is not compulsory for a career in films, it would definitely help the artistes in making a mark in the latter field, he feels. The audience seeks freshness and there is always room for new faces. "Stage artistes, however, are no threat to film artistes and the two media are only complementary," he adds.
The Visakha Humour Club felicitated Kondavalasa at the Prema Samajam auditorium on Bhogi Day.
MADHU GOPAL B
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