HYDERABAD:
Venu Madhav had nursed ambitions of becoming an MLA, but that remained a dream. There is an interesting story behind how Venu got close to
TDP founder NT Rama Rao.
In his hometown
Kodad
, Venu was a popular mimicry artiste. Former minister A Madhava Reddy spotted him at an event and got him to perform at a TDP meeting in Nalgonda.
N Chandrababu Naidu gave a bigger platform for him to showcase his talent at TDP’s ‘Mahanadu’ in Hyderabad. There, just before NTR’s speech, Naidu sent Venu to the stage to perform. NTR appreciated his talent and gave ‘orders’ that he should work for the party. That landed him a telephone operator’s job at TDP office in Himayatnagar. He did not like the job and it showed in the way he responded when people called. He was given a crash course in telephone etiquette.
Then, he was drafted to work for TDP LP office at the Assembly. His job was to collate newspaper cuttings. Since Ravindra Bharathi was close by, he attended an event and performed there. That changed his life. Director SV Krishna Reddy gave him a break in films.
Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, and Mini Crossword.Sushil Rao is Editor-Special Reports, at The Times of India, Hyde...
Read MoreSushil Rao is Editor-Special Reports, at The Times of India, Hyderabad. He began his journalism career at the age of 20 in 1988. He is a gold medalist in journalism from the Department of Communication and Journalism, Arts College, Osmania University, Hyderabad from where he did his post-graduation from. He has been with The Times of India’s Hyderabad edition since its launch in 2000. He has also done an introductory course in film studies from the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, and also from the Central University of Kerala equipping himself with the knowledge of filmmaking for film criticism. He has authored four books. In his career spanning 34 years, he has worked for five newspapers and has also done television reporting. He was also a web journalist during internet’s infancy in the mid 1990s in India. He covers defence, politics, diaspora, innovation, administration, the film industry, Hyderabad city and Telangana state, and human interest stories. He is also a podcaster, blogger, does video reporting and makes documentaries.
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