When Bapu Bomma defined Telugu beauty

The phrase ���Bapu Bomma��� has become the gold standard for Telugu woman���s beauty in Telugu cinema and culture. The lines of the hit number, Bapugari Bomma from Attarintiki Daredi reflect the essence of feminine Telugu beauty. ���Hey bongaralanti kallu thippindi, ungaralunna juttu thippindi gingiralette nadumopullo nanne tippindi ammo, Bapu gari bommo olammo, mallepula kommo��� goes the number (loose translation: Rotating her eyes like tops, Twirling her curly hair, shaking her hips making me crazy, Oh my God, Bapu bomma or a branch of jasmine).
Whether it was Sangeetha in the 1975 classic Muthyala Muggu,Jyothi in Vamsa Vruksham (1980), Divyavani in Pelli Pustakam (1991), Sneha in Radha Gopalam (2005) and last but not the least, Nayanthara as Sita in Sri Ramarajyam, Bapu���s actresses have epitomised Telugu beauty onscreen. A gifted illustrator, Bapu (Sattiraju Lakshmi Narayana) had a unique style which he seamlessly adapted to the Telugu screen.
���He could tell an entire story through storyboards and that���s a rarity these days. One of his biggest contributions to art is the ���Bapu Bomma��� series, where he depicted his idea of an ideal Telugu woman ��� big eyes, sharp nose and voluptuous body. A lot of arts students, who hailed from small towns and villages, especially from the Andhra region, were influenced by his work and imitated him. It���s not creative drawing,which is taught in most colleges; but it suited quite well to story-telling in films. Several students ended up working as assistants to the assistants of Bapu,��� explains artist Fawad Tamkanat.
Actress Nayanthara echoes similar sentiments saying, ���He was like a father figure. I am so lucky to have worked with him. He is a genius, a living legend who made every frame of Sri Ramarajyam look like a painting. After the movie���s shooting was done,Bapu garu gifted me a beautiful painting from Ramayana, which I will treasure forever.��� Actress Pranitha Subhash never met the iconic filmmaker, but reckons being called ���Bapu Bomma��� was the biggest compliment she ever got. ���Although I never got a chance to meet and interact with Bapu, I felt a connection with him and his work. Almost everyone on the sets was going gaga over the song and they sort of introduced me to the works of Bapu. Recently, I read a quote which said that if a woman is beautiful, she���s called an ���Angel��� in English and a ���Bapu Bomma��� in Telugu. I think that sums up the legacy he has left behind,��� says Pranitha.
Actress Charmme rates working in the Bapu-directed Sundarakanda as the greatest learning experience of her career. ���I was a Bapu���s fan even before I worked with him. I had seen a lot of his films and illustrations and when I got a chance to work with him in Sundarakanda, I sort of imitated his paintings. On the first day of the shoot, when I enacted a scene, where I had to light a lamp, he was so surprised with what I had done that he came to me, patted on my cheeks, and said, ���Good homework amma!��� He had a naughty sense of humour and we became good friends,��� recalls Charmme.