Chittoor V. Nagayya
Born	Vuppaladadiyam Nagayya (1904-03-28)28 March 1904 Repalle, Madras Presidency, British India (present-day Andhra Pradesh, India)
Died	30 December 1973(1973-12-30) (aged 69)
Occupation	Actor, composer, director, producer, writer and playback singer
Years active	1938–1973
Awards	Padma Shri (1965)

Chittoor V. Nagayya (born Vuppaladadiyam Nagayya Sarma; 28 March 1904 – 30 December 1973) was an Indian actor, singer, composer, screenwriter, director, and producer known for his work in Telugu cinema, Tamil cinema, and Telugu theatre. Indian film journalist and the editor of Film India, Baburao Patel, described Nagayya as "The Paul Muni of India".^[1][2] According to S. Muthiah, Nagayya was considered the best character actor in South cinema during 1938-1950s.^[1] In 1965, he became the first South Indian actor to receive the Padma Shri in arts from the Government of India for his contributions to Indian cinema.^[1][3][4] In his honour, the Chittoor Nagayya Kalakshetram of Arts was established in Chittoor of Andhra Pradesh.^[5]

Brought up in Chittoor, Nagayya was closely connected to Rama Vilasa Sabha, a Telugu theatre association in the city. He performed and directed several stage plays, such as Sarangadhara, Viswamithra Chitra Nilayam, Savitri, Bruhannala and Ramadasu. He staged the roles of Telugu saint-poets Pothana, Vemana, Ramadasu, and Tyagaraja. While acting in a stage production at the Victoria Public Hall, Madras he was spotted by B. N. Reddy. At this juncture H. M. Reddy formed Rohini Pictures with the association of B. N. Reddy. The studio started its first venture in Telugu through the film Gruhalakshmi in 1938, in which Nagayya played a significant role. When the partners decided to go their own ways, Nagayya followed B.N. Reddy to his new venture, Vauhini Studios. Later, he worked in several films with Vauhini Studios including social films such as Vande Mataram (1939), Sumangali (1940), Devata (1941), Swarga Seema (1945), and Beedhalapatlu (1947).^[6]

Nagayya made significant contributions to Telugu cinema, and starred in about two hundred Telugu films.^[7] He was a method actor, and his forte was usually playing intense characters, often immersing himself in the study of the real character's traits and mannerisms.^[8] Nagayya was the protagonist in the most expensive 1940 Telugu production, Viswa Mohini, touted to be the first film on the Indian motion picture world.^[9][10][11] He prominent film roles include the 14th-century poet Pothana in Bhakta Potana (1942), 17th-century saint Tyagaraja in Thyagayya (1946), 12th-century saint Gora Kumbhar in Chakradhari (1948), and Sivaram in the social problem film Naa Illu (1953). In 1964, Nagayya essayed the 17th-century saint Bhadrachala Ramadasu in the film Ramadasu which he had also co-written, directed and produced. The film won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu.^[12] Nagayya also starred in about one hundred and sixty films in Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, and Hindi.^[13]

Early life

screenshot of Nagayya in a talking picture

Statue of Nagayya in Film Nagar, Hyderabad

Nagayya was born on 28 March 1904 in a Telugu-speaking family in a tiny hamlet near Repalle, Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh. His parents were Ramalinga Sharma and Venkata Lakshmamba. His maternal grandmother adopted him and took him to her native village, Gonugur, near Kuppam and later to Chittoor. He took up studies with a scholarship provided by the Tirupati Devasthanam and took his degree in Chittoor.^[14]

After working as a clerk in a government office, Nagayya became a journalist with Andhra Patrika. Mahatma Gandhi and Nehru influenced him and he participated in the freedom struggle (Dandi Satyagraha) in 1930, later going on to work for some gramophone companies including Hutchins as well as attending the Gowhati Congress conclave with S. Srinivasa Iyyengar.^[15] He was married to Jaya Lakshmi, but she died giving birth to a daughter a year after. He then married Girija, and Girija, too died due to miscarriage in the eighth month. His first daughter died of an un-diagnosed illness. He then participated in long stays at Ramana Maharshi Ashram. He has family in Tirupati who are his brother's (Vuppaladadiyam Subrahmanya Sharma) son, Vuppaladadiyam S. Haragopal and daughters (Late Amruthavalli and Late Kusuma) , Lakshmi Narasimha and their children, Vuppaladadiyam Shyam Sundar and Vuppaladadiyam Pavan Kumar.^[16]

Civilian honours

• Padmashri, Government of India in 1965

Awards

National Film Awards

• National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu (director) – 1964 for Ramadasu

State Awards

• Abinava Thyagaraju by the Maharaja of Travancore.
• Best Actor Award by the Andhra Film Journalists Association
• Felicitated by a life size statue in Panagal Park, Chennai after his demise.

Filmography

Actor

Composer and play back singer

Playback singer

• Ramadasu (1964)
• Tenali Raman
• Gumasta (1953/II) (playback singer and composer)
• Naa Illu (1953) (playback singer and composer)
• Yogi Vemana (1947) (playback singer and composer)
• Thyagayya (1946) (playback singer and composer)
• Swargaseema (1945) (playback singer and composer)
• Bhakta Potana (1942) (playback singer and composer)
• Devatha (1941) (playback singer and composer)
• Sumangali (1940) (playback singer and composer)
• Vishwamohini (1940) (playback singer)
• Vande Mataram (1939) (playback singer and composer)
• Gruhalakshmi (1938) (playback singer)

Director (partial filmography)

• Ramadasu (Telugu, 1964)
• En Veedu (Tamil, 1953)
• Naa Illu (Telugu, 1953)
• Thyagayya (Telugu, 1946)

Producer (partial filmography)

• Naa Illu (1953)

Writer (partial filmography)

• Thyagayya (1946)