When Krishna Took The Hindu Flight To Reach Chennai And Pay Tributes To His Mentor Adurthi Subba Rao

Nov 16, 2022, 13:00 IST

By Satya Pamula

Superstar Krishna whose actual name was Ghattamaneni Siva Rama Krishna Murthy was one of the top Superstars of Telugu cinema. In a career spanning more than five decades, he has acted in more than 352 movies starting from the early 1960s to the late 1980s Krishna had also produced films under the Padmlaya banner and the Vijaya Krishna banner and directed 16 films.

The veteran Telugu actor Krishna (80) died on Tuesday morning at a city-based private super-specialty hospital where he was undergoing treatment following a cardiac arrest.

We would like to share a small snippet of one of the veteran actor’s respect and gratitude he had for his mentor Adurthi Subba Rao.

Krishna who started his career with minor roles in films like Kula Gothralu (1961), Padandi Mundhuku (1962), and Paruvu Prathishta (1963), was introduced as a hero in the film titled Thene Manasulu in 1965 by director Adurthi Subba Rao. After an extensive audition the director chose Krishna, Ram Mohan, Sukanya and Sandhya Rani in the lead roles. Though there was pressure on him by the producers to replace Krishna, Adurthi stuck to his choice and the film went on to become a huge commercial success and sealing Krishna’s place in the Telugu film industry.

The film was shot at Saradhi Studios in Hyderabad, Ooty, and Mysore. The film was initially planned to be in black and white, but after seven to eight reels were shot, Adurthi decided to reshoot the entire film in Eastmancolor. Thene Manasulu thus became the first Telugu social film to be shot completely in colour. Adurthi repeated the same cast for his next film Kanne Manasulu in 1966.

A Blockbuster beginning for Superstar Krishna garu's Tene Manasulu...
Released on 31. 03. 1965#55YrsForTeneManasulu @urstrulymahesh #Maheshbabu pic.twitter.com/ZrfxLEO0gV

— Mahesh Babu Facts (@MaheshBabuFacts) March 31, 2020

As per Wikipedia, Krishna who didn’t know how to ride a two-wheeler was required to ride a scooter in the movie. Actor Raavi Kondala Rao, at Adurthi’s request, taught Krishna to drive the scooter which he learnt within four days in the lanes from the studios to Sanathnagar.

Director Adurthi Subba Rao died on 1st October 1975 while he was shooting for the biographical film Mahakavi Kshetrayya in Chennai. Actor Krishna who was already a successful hero then wanted to reach Chennai at the earliest to pay homage to his mentor. He was in Vijayawada at that time for shooting and at the last minute as he could not catch any flights or trains to Chennai back then, is said to have requested the management of The Hindu newspaper to allow him to travel in their airplane. The Hindu aircraft was used exclusively for airlifting newspapers from Chennai back in those days. (With inputs from Satya Pamula)

Image Source Satya Pamula

The Hindu management conceded to his request and Krishna managed to reach Chennai from Vijayawada, and have the final glimpse of his mentor Adurthi Subba Rao. Adurthi made four films with Krishna including Kanne Mansulu, Gajula Kistaiah, and Mayadari Malligadu apart from Thene Mansulu.

H Ramesh Babu wrote the autobiography of Adurthi Subba Rao which was printed and published under the aegis of Krishna as a token of his gratitude to the director who introduced him as hero. The book was launched in 2013 by Dr. K Vishwanath who was Adurthi's assistant for a long time, released the book and presented the first copy to Krishna and his family members.

Krishna who was known as a producer's actor had immense respect for them and is known to have helped many producers who were in financial distress if his films failed. The actor apparently did not take remuneration for some films to support them and one can say that even before actors like Rajinikanth and others, it was Krishna who was the first to set this kind of trend.

Also Read: AP CM YS Jagan Pays Last Respects to Superstar Krishna