Kasturi Siva Rao (6 March 1913 - 24 February 1966) was an Indian actor, comedian, playback singer, producer and director 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, Hy ...

. He was one of the first star comedians of Telugu cinema.26lettersto24frames.wordpress.com/2011/09/01/kasturi-siva-rao-the-first-star-comedian/tollywood.info/actor/k/kasturi_siva_rao.htm

Career

Kasturi Siva Rao started his career in the film industry as a movie narrator for the silent films produced at that time. Besides providing commentary, he was also a projector operator and had a unique humor to his fame. Theaters would advertise films as having "commentary by Siva Rao". He became an actor with the film ''

Vara Vikrayam ''Vara Vikrayam'' ( te, వర విక్రయం) is a famous novel and play with same name by Kallakoori Narayana Rao. It is based on a reformist social theme about the Dowry system prevalent in India. Main characters * Purushotham Rao, Re ...

'' in 1939 and shot into the limelight with ''Chudamani'' in 1941. B N Reddy's ''

Swarga Seema ''Swarga Seema'' is a 1945 Telugu-language drama film produced and directed by B. N. Reddy and starring V. Nagayya, B. Jayamma and Bhanumathi. Ghantasala entered film world as a Playback singer for a song of C. H. Narayana Rao and it is al ...

'' in 1945 and '' Balaraju'' in 1948 catapulted him to stardom. He became a lead actor with the film ''

Gunasundari Katha ''Gunasundari Katha'' is a 1949 Indian Telugu language fantasy film produced and directed by K. V. Reddy, starring Sriranjani, Kasturi Siva Rao, Santha Kumari. The script was written by Pingali Nagendra Rao, K. V. Reddy, and Kamalakara Kameswa ...

'' in 1949, in which he played the role of a cursed prince. The film became a huge hit and his mannerisms and dialogue were so popular that people started conversing in the same tone. He owned a

Buick Buick () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American marques of automobiles, and was the company that established General ...

, which was a rare possession, and whenever people saw the car on roads they used to swarm the car and run along with it. Kasturi Siva Rao later on became a producer and director with the film ''

Paramanandayya Sishyulu ''Paramanandayya Sishyulu'' () is a 1950 Indian Telugu-language swashbuckling comedy film, produced and directed by Kasturi Siva Rao under the Allied Productions banner. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Lakshmi Rajyam, C.S.R. and music jointly ...

'' in the year 1950.

Selected filmography

*''

'' (స్వర్గసీమ) *'' Balaraju'' (బాలరాజు) 28 February 1948 Supporting Actor & playback singer * ''Laila Majnu'' (లైలా మజ్ను) 1 October 1949 Supporting Actor *''

Raksha Rekha ''Raksha Rekha'' () is a 1949 Telugu language, Telugu-language swashbuckler film, produced and directed by R. Padmanabhan. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Bhanumathi Ramakrishna and Anjali Devi, with music composed by Ogirala Ramachandra Rao a ...

'' (రక్షరేఖ) 1949 Supporting Actor *''

'' (గుణసుందరి కథ) 1 October 1949 Hero and playback singer *''

'' (పరమానందయ్య శిష్యుల కథ) 1950 Supporting Actor, Producer, Director * ''Swapna Sundari'' (స్వప్న సుందరి) 1950 Supporting Actor *''

Sri Lakshmamma Katha ''Sri Lakshmamma Katha'' () is a 1950 Telugu-language film, produced and directed by Ghantasala Balaramayya under the Pratibha Productions banner. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Anjali Devi, with music composed by C. R. Subburaman. Plot ...

'' (శ్రీ లక్ష్మమ్మ కథ) 1950 Supporting Actor & playback singer *'' Mantra Dandam'' 1951 *'' Stree Sahasam'' (స్త్రీ సాహసం) 1951 Supporting Actor * ''Prema'' (ప్రేమ) 1952 Supporting Actor *'' Iddaru Pellalu'' 1954 *''

Panduranga Mahatyam ''Panduranga Mahatyam'' () is a 1957 Indian Telugu-language biographical film, based on the life of Pundarika, produced by N. Trivikrama Rao under the National Art Theatres banner and directed by Kamalakara Kameswara Rao. It stars N. T. Rama Ra ...

'' (పాండురంగ మహత్యం) 28 November 1957 Supporting Actor *''Dongalunnaru Jagratha'' 1958 *''

Appu Chesi Pappu Koodu ''Appu Chesi Pappu Koodu'' () is a 1959 Indian Telugu-language comedy drama film directed by L. V. Prasad. The film was produced by Nagi Reddi and Chakrapani of Vijaya Productions; the latter co-wrote its script with Prasad and Vempati Sada ...

'' (అప్పు చేసి పప్పు కూడు) 14 January 1959 Supporting Actor ( Takku ) *''

Raja Makutam ''Raja Makutam'' () is a 1960 Indian swashbuckler film, produced and directed by B. N. Reddy under the Vauhini Studios banner. Filmed simultaneously in Telugu and Tamil languages, it stars N. T. Rama Rao and Rajasulochana , with music compose ...

'' (రాజమకుటం) 24 February 1960 Supporting Actor * ''Seetharama Kalyanam'' (సీతారామ కళ్యాణం) 6 January 1961 Supporting Actor *''

Mugguru Maratilu ''Mugguru Maratilu'' is a 1946 Telugu-language historical drama film produced and directed by Ghantasala Balaramayya under the Pratibha Productions banner. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao, C. H. Narayana Rao, Bezawada Rajaratnam and Kannamba , ...

'' *''Mayalamaari''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rao, Kasturi 1913 births Telugu comedians Telugu male actors Male actors from Andhra Pradesh Year of death unknown Date of death unknown Indian male comedians Male actors in Telugu cinema Indian male film actors People from Kakinada 20th-century Indian male actors