Farewell Dasari! Thanks for the inspiration

Ram Gopal Varma was spot on with his tribute (see above) to Dasari Narayana Rao. At a time when star-centric potboilers featuring matinee idols like NTR, ANR, Krishna, Sobhan Babu and Krishnam Raju ruled the roost, Dasari burst on to the scene and turned the game on its head. “His first film Tata Manavadu had comedian Raja Babu as the hero, yet it went on to be successful at the BO.He was a game changer from the word go,” says Telugu cinema historian and director, Department of Language and Culture, govt of Telangana, Harikrishna Mamidi.
A Guruvugaru indeed
Over the years Dasari went on to introduce a multitude of actors, technicians, story writers, music directors, singers…et al. True to his moniker “Guruvugaru”, Dasari played godfather to many stalwarts of Telugu cinema. Mohan Babu, Ramesh Babu, Jayasudha, Jayaprada, Madhavi, Sridevi, Sujatha, Swapna, Silk Smitha, Rajini, Shubha Sree, Alekya, Annapurna, Phataphat Jayalakshmi, Narsimha Raju, Eshwar Rao, Balaji, Hariprasad, Trinadh, Jayaprakash Reddy,
R Narayana Murthy... the list goes on.
A self-made man
His cinema, in many ways was a reflection of his life experiences. Third child of an ordinary tobacco farmer, Dasari was the only one from the family who was sent to school. But he was forced to discontinue and work in a carpenter’s workshop for a salary of `1 per month when his dad Sairaju’s produce was gutted in a fire accident. However, Dasari fought against the odds and managed to continue his education and completed his graduation. It was in Sri Yerramilli Narayanamurthy College (Narsapuram, West Godavari district), where he first dabbled in theatre and earned fame for his acting and writing abilities, before he forayed into movies in 1972.
The 70’s and 80’s were when the new middle class was emerging in Andhra Pradesh as the second generation of citizens left their native villages and began to move to cities to find a living. “His movies reflected the
aspirations and struggles of the middle class. Social dramas such as Tata Manavadu, Amma Rajinama, Bangaru Kutumbam etc. showcased how the emergence of nuclear families was leading to decline in family values. While revolutionary films like Sardar Paparaydu, Bobbili Puli, Ossey Ramulamma, Orey Rickshaw espoused causes like social justice, gender equality and institutional corruption,” explains Harikrishna Mamidi.
Bollywood too came to woo him
At his peak in the 80’s Dasari became a much sought after name in Bollywood as well. Many of his successful Telugu films were remade into Hindi as well. Swarg Narak, a remake of Swargam Narakam featuring Sanjeev Kapoor, who played an astrologer who cons unsuspecting people, was a blockbuster. So was Jitendra-starrer Jyoti Bane Jwala, a remake of Krishnam Raju’s Katakatala Rudraiah. One of his most critically acclaimed films was the political comedy Aaj Ka MLA Ram Avatar in which Rajesh Khanna played a widowed barber who becomes an MLA.
A true director’s director
Film activist-turned filmmaker, Kathi Mahesh says, “As a filmmaker his achievements are unparalleled. But more than the world record for directing most number of films and the innumerable accolades he won as an actor, song writer, script writer and producer, Dasari will be remembered as the man who showed why cinema is essentially a director’s medium. Like his films, Dasari was an anti-establishment guy who challenged the status quo and proved that you do not need stars to make successful films at a time when hero worship was at its peak in Telugu cinema.”
Director Krish sums up Dasari’s contribution to Telugu cinema the most succinctly. “So what if his heart has stopped beating. Dasari garu’s films will continue to play not just on TV and theatres... each of his 151 films will continue to run on in the collective consciousness of Telugu people for as long as cinema will exist. He is not a 75-year-old man but an embodiment of the 24 crafts of cinema,” he said.