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.