Senior Actor GV Narayana Rao Passes Away

The Telugu film industry is mourning the demise of veteran actor JV Narayana Rao. Film fans and members of the industry have expressed their condolences following his death. Born in 1953, Narayana Rao spent his early years and education in Guntakal and Hyderabad. Interested in acting from a young age, he also participated in stage plays before joining the first batch of the Film Institute established under the Madras Film Chamber in 1973. Superstar Rajinikanth was his batchmate, and the two developed a close friendship during their training days. Narayana Rao made his silver-screen debut in 1976 with K. Balachander’s ‘Anthuleni Katha’ and won the Nandi Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in his debut film. He later played lead roles in films including ‘Oka Oori Katha’, ‘Muthyala Pallaki’ and ‘Angadi Bomma’.

After his films as a lead actor did not achieve the expected success, Narayana Rao continued his career in supporting roles. He acted in more than 100 films and also appeared in television serials. He shared a close bond with Megastar Chiranjeevi and acted alongside him in films such as ‘Chattanki Kallulevu’, ‘Manchu Pallaki’, ‘Raja Vikramarka’, ‘Gang Leader’ and ‘Hitler’. He also produced the Chiranjeevi-starrer ‘Devantakudu’ and ‘Yamudiki Mogudu’. Later, ‘Yamudiki Mogudu’ was remade in Tamil with his friend Rajinikanth in the lead role. Narayana Rao had spoken on several occasions about his long-standing friendship and association with both Chiranjeevi and Rajinikanth.