Grand Old Man of Telugu theatre cremated

VIJAYAWADA: పోలవరపు సూర్యప్రకాష్ రావు (Polavarpu Suryaprakasa Rao) (94), general secretary of Andhra Nataka Kala Parishad and grand-old-man (GOM) of the Telugu theatre, who died here last night was cremated on Monday.

Born in Dokiparru village in Krishna district, he made his debut on the Telugu stage by playing the role of Bussey in బొబ్బిలి యుద్ధం (Bobbili Yuddham) play as a child artiste.

Joining as a member of the newly formed Andhra Nataka Kala Parishad at Gudivada in 1945, which heralded a new era in the production of Telugu social dramas, he carved a niche as ’scrutiny judge’ during play and playlet competitions conducted in south India.

It was during this period, Suryaprakasa Rao turned a mentor to the then teen-aged Akkineni Nageswara Rao, who came under his spell at Gudivada as an artiste donning female roles on the stage.

In recognition of his yeoman services to the promotion of Telugu drama, the state government honoured Suryaprakasa Rao during the Nandi awards function held in 2003, apart from getting the celebrations launched by him.

He is survived by his two daughters and two sons, one of whom is the renowned Telugu cine director Sarat.

Courtesy: NewIndPress