| T.R. Narasimharaju | |
|---|---|
| Born | 24th July 1923 Tiptur, Karnataka, India |
| Died | July 11, 1979 |
| Occupation | Actor, Comedian |
T. R. Narasimharaju (Kannada: ನರಸಿಂಹರಾಜು) ( 1923–1979 ) was an Indian Kannada popular actor specialising in roles that required ample comic timing. He has acted in more than 250 Kannada movies between 1954 and 1979. He had the necessary looks and voice needed by a comedian. A successful Kannada film of that period always had the recipe of four main things: the hero, the heroine, a villain, and an equally illustrious role of a comedian. Narasimharaju was the default choice for the comedian's role. It was impossible to conceive the idea of a Kannada film without all of these.
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Narasimharaju was the son of a police constable Ramaraju, from Tiptur. Venkata Lakshmi Amma was his mother's name. His stage debut happened when he was 4 years old. The poverty prevailing in the house made his uncle Lakshmipatiraju take the young lad to the 'Chandra-moul-eshwara drama company' run by Shri C.B. Mallappa who happened to be touring Tiptur during that period. After some time, Narasimharaju left that company and formed his own troupe and enacted his roles from his now previous performances - 'Gora-kumbara,' and 'Harishchandra'. He soon joined 'Edathorey Drama Company' after his troupe sustained losses. He took on the garb of a lady in the mythological 'Vishvamitra', 'Rama', 'Ravana', and 'Bharata' among others. He spent the first 27 years of his acting career in professional drama companies. He donned different roles in the plays of different companies like "Shri Chandramauleshwara Nataka Sabha", "Hirannaiah Mitra Mandali", "Bharatha Lalitha Kala Sangha", "Gunda Joisara Company" of Belur, and Gubbi "Channabasaveshwara Nataka Company". He did not neglect these drama companies even after becoming hugely popular film actor [1].
He made his film debut in 1954 when he acted in the film Bedara Kannappa alongside Dr. Raj Kumar in the role of the son of the temple priest. Both were colleagues from the time they were in Gubbi Veeranna's drama company. Narasimha Raju took inspiration from Charlie Chaplin. He had somewhat slightly protruding upper jaw teeth, which gave him a comic appearance. He made use of his natural abilities to the full extent possible.
Though known for his comic timing, Narasmimharaju unfortunately spent his last days mourning the death of his son in an accident.[2] He died aged 56 on the 11th of July, 1979 at around 4.30 a.m. due to severe heart attack. After his death, an annual cine award, the Narasimharaju Prashasti was established in his memory.[3]. He was the busiest actor in the Kannada Film Industry, even actors like Rajkumar used to wait for his Callsheet, and used to adjust to his dates. However, despite his iconic status among Kannadigas, it is ironic that he was not awarded even once either by the state or the central governments. Till date, no road/memorial exists commemorating this great actor.
University of Pennsylvania Search string: narasimha raju [1]