Early life
Jaggayya was born on 31 December 1928 to Seetaramaih and Rajya Lakshmamma in Morampudi village near Tenali in Guntur district. He quoted on several occasions in his essays the influence his father had on his interest towards arts. He started acting at the age of 11, with the role of Lava (Ramayana), Lava in a Hindi play during his high school days in Duggirala. He got trained in the art of painting under the guidance of Adivi Bapiraju, a noted painter, during his college days. As a student, he joined the Congress Socialist Party, Congress Socialist party in Tenali, which was involved in the Indian Independence Movement at that time. He joined the Andhra-Christian College, in 1942, in Guntur for his higher studies. He used to be a member of Navya Sahitya Parishath in Guntur. Later he joined a periodical named ''Desabhimani'' (meaning "Patriot") as a journalist. Later he worked as an editor for the weekly Andhra Republic. During his B.A. days in A-C College, he along with N. T. Rama Rao, acted in several plays. He also used to be a part of Navajyothi Artists, a cultural organisation run by Mukkamala (actor), Mukkamala. After working as a teacher in Duggirala for a brief while, he became a news announcer in All India Radio, Akashavani for three years. Jaggayya won the best actor award in three successive years for ''Chesina Papam'' and ''Telangana''.Film career
He made his cinematic debut in 1952 drama film ''Priyuralu'' directed by Tripuraneni Gopichand. This movie was produced by Donepudi Krishnamurthy, also known popularly as Gokul Krishnamurthy. He quit the job as news announcer as he signed three movies on a trot. His second movie, ''Adarsham,'' didn't do well at box office. His planned third movie ''Paleru'' did not even see light of the day. ''Bangaru Papa,'' directed by B. N. Reddy, B N Reddy, released in 1955, was the first breakthrough film for Jaggayya. He was distinguished for his booming voice and contributed as a voice artist for more than hundred feature films. He dubbed in Telugu language for veteran Sivaji Ganesan. He was the narrator, and dubbing artist for internationally recognized works such as Maa Bhoomi, and Richard Attenborough's character of John Hammond in the Telugu-dubbed version of the Hollywood film ''Jurassic Park (film), Jurassic Park''. He acted in almost 100 films as a lead, 100 more as a co-lead and almost 200 films as a character artist. He was a part of almost every film of V. B. Rajendra Prasad, VB Rajendra Parasad's ''Jagapathi Pictures,'' K. B. Tilak, K B Tilak's ''Anupama Pictures'' and ''Ramavijeta Films'' owned by brothers Prabhakar and Baburao. His last film as an actor was ''Kunthi Putrudu,'' which starred Mohan Babu as lead and was directed by Dasari Narayana Rao. He turned into producer with a film ''Padandi Munduku,'' under the banner of ''Jagruthi Chitra.'' The film was released in January 1962 and was a regarded as first Telugu social film made on the basis of Indian Independence movement. He was awarded the 'Kala Vachaspathi' for his sonorous voice.Political career
Jaggayya was active in politics right from his student days and was allied with the socialist group within the Congress party. When the group was disbanded, he joined Jayaprakash Narayan's Praja Socialist Party, but returned to Congress in 1956, heeding the call of Jawaharlal Nehru. In 1967, he was elected as a member of the fourth Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament of India from the constituency of Ongole on a Congress Party ticket. He was the first Indian film actor to be elected as a member of parliament.Literary achievements
He translated Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore's Geetanjali and multiple poems into Telugu under the name ''Ravindra Geetha''. He also translated Tagore's play "Sacrifice" into Telugu under the name ''Balidaanam''. He also co-founded ''Manasvini Charitable Trust'' to honor the film literature of ''Acharya Aatreya.'' The lyrics of all the film songs written by Athreya was consolidated into seven volumes.Death
Jagayya died on 5 March 2004 in Chennai, Tamilnadu.Awards
;Civilian honours * Padma Bhushan, Government of India in 1992 ;Nandi Awards *Nandi Award for Best Character Actor ;State Awards *Andhra Pradesh Government cash award for producing ''Padandi Munduku'' in 1962 * Title of ''Kalaimamani'' from Tamil Nadu government ;Other honours * Title of ''Kala Vachaspathi'' from the ''Sanskrit Viswa Vidyalaya'', Delhi * Title of ''Kala Prapoorna'' from Andhra University, Visakhapatnam * Honorary D.Litt. from the Telugu University, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, HyderabadFilmography
Death
He underwent a Hip Replacement surgery and complications after the surgery resulted in his death.References
External links
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jaggayya, Kongara 1926 births 2004 deaths People from Tenali Telugu male actors Indian actor-politicians Nandi Award winners Indian male voice actors Indian male screenwriters Indian socialists Male actors from Andhra Pradesh Indian male film actors India MPs 1967–1970 20th-century Indian male actors Male actors in Telugu cinema Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts Indian male dramatists and playwrights Indian National Congress politicians from Andhra Pradesh 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights Praja Socialist Party politicians Lok Sabha members from Andhra Pradesh Dramatists and playwrights from Andhra Pradesh 20th-century Indian translators 20th-century Indian screenwriters