Banda Kanakalingeswara Rao (20 January 1907 – 3 December 1968) 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, Hy ...

. He was the member of Kendriya

Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in English) is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India. History It was set up by the Indian education ministry on 31 May 1952 and be ...

since 1952 and Andhra Pradesh Sangeet Natak Akademi since 1957. He promoted

Kuchipudi Kuchipudi () ( Telugu: ) is one of the eight major Indian classical dances. It originates from a village named Kuchipudi in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Kuchipudi is a dance-drama performance, with its roots in the ancient Hindu Sa ...

dance along with ''Vedantam Parvatisam'' in 1957 helped the government in the establishment of ''Siddhendra Kalakshetra'' in

village. This institution was later merged with the

Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University The Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University (PSTU) is one of the few Indian language universities in India. University It was established as "Telugu University" on 2 December 1985 through an Act of Legislation (Act No. 27 of 1985) by the State Legi ...

in 1989. He wrote many articles to take this art form to the public. He joined

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 a ...

in 1956 and broadcast many drama and playlets. He founded Shiva temple and Vedic School in his native village. He founded College for Theatre arts in

Eluru Eluru is a city and the district headquarters of Eluru district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is one of the 14 municipal corporations in the state and the mandal headquarters of Eluru mandal in the Eluru revenue division. The city ...

in 1938 and trained many students and art lovers. He established ''Prabhat Theatre'' in 1942, an institution and introduced new techniques into the stage plays. He entered the

Telugu film 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, Hy ...

industry during the early period and acted in some films like ''Paduka Pattabhishekham'' (1945), '' Bala Nagamma'' (1942), ''Sarangadhara'' (1937), and ''Draupadi Manasamrakshanam'' (1936).

Early life

He was born in 1907 at

Atapaka Atapaka is a village in Kaikaluru mandal of Krishna district, Andhra Pradesh, India. Demographics According to Indian census, 2001, the demographic details of Atapaka mandal is as follows: * Total Population: 4,883 in 1,144 Households * Male ...

village in

Kaikaluru Kaikaluru is a town in Eluru district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Kaikalur is home to Kolleru Lake, one of the largest freshwater lakes in India, covering about 90,100 hectares and is a tourist attraction. Geography Kaikalur is locat ...

mandal of

Krishna district Krishna district is district in the coastal Andhra Region in Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, with Machilipatnam as its administrative headquarters. It is the coastal district of Andhra Pradesh. Machilipatnam is the most populated city in the di ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

. After primary education, he joined Noble College, Machilipatnam. He graduated in Law from

Madras Law College Dr. Ambedkar Government Law College, commonly known by its former name Madras Law College, is a law school, located in Chennai (Madras), Tamil Nadu, India. It is also referred to as Government Law College or GLC, Chennai. It was established in ...

in 1932. He practiced as a lawyer for some time and later shifted to the theatre field as his profession. He played many different roles in various dramas. He was well known for the

Bahuka Bahuka may refer to: * Bahu (Bahuka), a king of the Solar dynasty founded by the legendary Indian king Ikshvaku * Bahuka (Nala), a character from the Mahābhārata who temporarily bore the name "Bahuka" * Bahuk ''Bahuk'' ( gu, બાહુક) ...

in ''Chitranaleeyam'' and Bilwamangal in ''Chintamani''.

Personal life

He lost his wife in 1942 and returned to Eluru. He married again. He had seven daughters and a son.

Death

He died in 1968. His statue was built in the Atapaka village.

Awards

*He was recipient of

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 Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in Englis ...

in 1963.Luminaries of 20th Century, Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University, Hyderabad, 2005

Filmography

Paduka Pattabhishekam ''Paduka Pattabhishekam'' is a 1945 Indian Telugu-language film directed and produced by Kadaru Nagabhushanam. Plot The story of the film is from the Hindu epic Ramayana. According to the father's wish Rama with Sita and Lakshmana goes to the ...

(1945) ... Bharatha * Bala Nagamma (1942) ... Kaaryavardhi Raju *

Sarangadhara ''Sarangadhara'' is an epic story during the reign of Rajaraja Narendra. Gurajada Apparao wrote the story in long poetic form in English and published in "Indian Leisure Hour" in 1883. It was a favourite Telugu drama and made into South Indian f ...

(1937) ... Sarangadhara * Draupadi Manasamrakshanam (1936)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rao, Banda Kanakalingeshwara Telugu people Indian male stage actors 1907 births 1968 deaths Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award 20th-century Indian male actors Andhra University alumni Indian male film actors Male actors from Andhra Pradesh Male actors in Telugu cinema Male actors in Telugu theatre People from Krishna district