Rajanala Kaleswara Rao, known mononymously by his surname as Rajanala, was an Indian actor known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema, Telugu theatre, and a few Tamil, Kannada, and Hindi films. In a film career spanning more than four decades, Rajanala acted in more than 1400 feature films in a variety of characters.[citation needed] Regarded as one of the finest method actors, Rajanala was known for his gruesome portrayals of lead antagonist roles during the Golden age of Telugu cinema. The Government of Andhra Pradesh and the film industry felicitated him for his achievements and contribution to Indian Film Industry. He won several Filmfare Awards South and Nandi Award.[1][2]
Early life and characteristics
Rajanala was born on January 3, 1925, in Nellore, Andhra Pradesh, India. While working as a revenue inspector in Nellore from 1944 to 1951 he made his entry into theatre. A post graduate in philosophy from University of Lucknow and a voracious reader of English literature. Before coming to Cinema, he won several awards and accolades for his acting in Theatre. He was a noted villain against N.T.Rama Rao, a versatile actor of Telugu filmdom at that time. Rajanala had well proportioned body, he also won MR. Madras for his Physique. Rajanala iconic acting was mostly through the movement of his eyes, he evince the cruelty by widening his eyes to various levels and his maniacal laughter was very famous. Rajanala played many villainous roles, but in real life he was an intellectual and spiritual man. Rajanala Kaleswara Rao, the first actor to star alongside three chief ministers, i.e. NT Rama Rao, M. G. Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa, he also had good friends in other film industry Kollywood and Bollywood.[3][4]
Death
Being a diabetic, his right leg could not withstand the rigours of outdoor shooting in Araku valley in 1995 when he was playing a full-fledged role in Telugu Veera Levara. His leg which was injured during the shooting had to be amputated at Nizams Institute of Medical Sciences. Later Rajanala shifted to Chennai taken cared by his daughter and son-in-law who was a businessman. Rajanala had severe cardiac arrest and was admitted in Vijaya Hospital in Chennai. He died on 21 May 1998 in Chennai, aged 73.[1][5]
