Jonnalagadda Venkata Ramana Murthi ( te, జె. వి. రమణమూర్తి; 20 May 1933 – 22 June 2016) was an Indian actor known for his works in

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, ...

, and

Telugu drama 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 ...

. Murthi made his film debut with

K. B. Tilak Korlipara Balagangadhara Tilak (14 January 1926 – 23 September 2010), popularly known as K. B. Tilak, was an Indian independence movement, Indian independence activist, film director and producer. Early life He was born at Denduluru in West ...

's sociopolitical film '' M.L.A.'' in 1957. Subsequently, he starred in about one fifty feature films in a variety of roles, and has received the Nandi Natakotsavam Award for Life Achievement in theater and drama.

Personal life

He was born on 20 May 1933 in

Vizianagaram district Vizianagaram district is one of the six districts in the Uttarandhra region of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh with its headquarters located at Vizianagaram. The district was once the part of ancient Kalinga.Saripilli Dibbilingeswara te ...

, Murthi held a degree in science, Murthi was the younger brother of

J. V. Somayajulu Jonnalagadda Venkata Somayajulu (30 July 1920 or – 24 April 2004) was an Indian actor known for his works in Telugu cinema and a few Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi films. In 1981, he received the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu ...

. Before making his foray into theatre and films, Murthi has worked in academics as a senior lecturer.

Theatre

He got the best performance award for ''Vishwa Shanti'' of Aatreya in Inter University Competition. He acted in many plays such as ''N.G.O.'', ''Evaru Donga'', ''Kappalu'', ''Natakam'', ''Keerthi Seshulu'', ''Kaala Rathri'', ''Phani'' and ''Katamraju Katha'' and toured the state. His most notable performance is Gireesham in ''

Kanyasulkam ''Kanyasulkam'' is a Telugu play written by Gurajada Apparao in 1892.20th Century Telugu Luminaries, Potti Sriramulu Telugu University, Hyderabad, 2005 It is one of the earliest modern works in an Indian language, and it is the first Telugu play ...

'' of

Gurajada Appa Rao Gurajada Venkata Apparao (21 September 1862 – 30 November 1915) was an Indian playwright, dramatist, poet, and writer known for his works in Telugu theatre. Rao wrote the play ''Kanyasulkam'' in 1892, which is considered as the greatest play ...

. He directed the production and appeared in a record number of performances.

Death

Murthi died on 22 June 2016 due to cardiac arrest in

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...

, India. He was 83 when he died. He was hospitalized.

Selected filmography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murthi, J. V. Ramana 1933 births 2016 deaths Male actors from Andhra Pradesh Indian male stage actors Telugu male actors Nandi Award winners Andhra University alumni Indian male film actors Male actors in Tamil cinema Male actors in Telugu cinema 20th-century Indian male actors 21st-century Indian male actors