TeluguCinema.Com - Homage to Sobhan Babu and Raghuvaran

Star Profiles
Homage to Sobhan Babu and Raghuvaran
By Sri
Mar 21, 2008 - 1:51:43 AM

Sobhan Babu: The reel hero and real hero - Romantic, Affectionate, and Principled

I woke up from a deep slumber as my mobile phone announced that I had an text (SMS) message. I have been getting prank calls for the last one week, mostly from India (since it's day time there), I muttered curses under my breath as I reached for the phone to see what it was about. Utter disbelief and shock passed my mind as I read the text message that I received - the message said that Sree Sobhan Babu gaaru was no more! My mind became totally blank and numb, and I didn't know what to say or write... I did not even want to believe the message, and I called the veteran actor's residence in Chennai and confirmed the news... My last hope that it was a prank message was gone... and I did not return to my senses until a long time afterward!

...As a child I saw a lot of Sobhan Babu films though I was not a fan of any particular hero. I saw almost all of his films as they were generally distributed by either Lakshmi Films or by Lakshmi Chitra (later), both distributors being our family friends. I never missed a film of his, and I saw them all on the first day or even before the release of the film sometimes. I also saw him many times really, when I was a kid, in several functions held in Hyderabad. I never spoke to him due to my general inhibitions or something else I am not sure. My classmates used to envy me as I narrated such incidents in the class next day, ignoring teachers' warnings of punishment; in fact, we used to chat happily outside the class, even if we were asked to leave the class as a punishment!

...I still remember his hair style being imitated by my friends in the class. (My father used to take me to the barber, like in the recent film Bommarillu, and I thus never had a chance to imitate him myself.) ...I also remember that a friend, Ramesh by name who also had a melodious voice, used to be an ardent fan of Sobhan Babu gaaru and used to learn all his songs by heart buying lyric books on the roadside. (That reminds me a trivial incident: Once we went to a picnic in Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad, and students from another school came there the same day. He used to sing the song Sarada nanu chEradaa... from the then-recent hit movie Sarada, and the children from the other school came to thrash Ramesh thinking he was teasing one of their classmates by name Sarada!)

Sobhan Babu was a regular to Samatha Arts who only made films with him, including hits like Mallepoovu and Jebu Donga. Director V. Madhusudhana Rao gaaru made Veerabhimanyu in 1965 with Sobhan Babu gaaru, and played a pivotal role in shaping his career later too. (The song adigO navalOkam... is unforgettable, apart from Sobhan Babu's action as young Abhimanyu!) Other movies in their combination included Lakshmi Nivaasam (1968), Manushulu Maaraali (1969), Kalyana Mandapam (1971), Ee Tharam Manishi (1977), Mallepoovu (1979), Radhakrishna (1978), Joodagaadu (1979), Bangaaru Chellelu (1979), Chandipriya (1980), Samsaaram-Santhaanam (1981).

A regular topic for debate among my classmates was "Who is great? Krishna or Sobhan Babu?" Indeed, there used to be a stiff competition between them. When there was a film with both of them as male leads, a funny scene could be seen in the theatre - Krishna fans walk out if there's a song on Sobhan Babu and vice versa. Also, both fans groups used to count how many punches Krishna threw on Sobhan and how many times Sobhan hit Krishna in the film. I still remember my friend Ramesh gathering cow dung in the early morning hours to throw on Krishna film posters in Deepak theater (Krishna's films usually released through Navayuga or Sree films, and thus in one of the theaters owned by the distributors themselves - Deepak or Sangam).

Another friend Anil, who used to be fan of Krishna, used to suspect Ramesh but was never able to caught him red-handed though both stayed in the same neighborhood behind Narayanaguda area in Hyderabad. Friends that I didn't grow up with tell their experiences about Krishna-Sobhan combinations: how they used to go in bicycles singing "kRshNaarjunulam! mEmE kRshNaarjunulam!" (Krishnaarjunulu), how they used to think that Krishna, Sobhan Babu (and Krishnam Raju) had "special bikes" that jumped or even flew in the air and that they used to compete among themselves as to whose bike goes faster or jumps higher, how they remember Sobhan Babu's Kannavaari Kalalu more than the much bigger hit Hindi version Aaraadhana...

...After I started doing interviews, I always wanted to interview the veterans including Akkineni gaaru, Sobhan Babu gaaru, Bhanumathi gaaru, L. Vijayalakshmi gaaru, etc. After two years of searching, I got hold of L. Vijayalakshmi gaaru, and then I planned to interview Bhanumathi gaaru, which never materialized due to some reason or the other, though I was talking to her regularly over the phone. I expected that she'd one day get the much-coveted Dada Saheb Phalke Award but she missed it though she was in the final list, due to the stupid politics.

Once I did Sarada gaari interview, my desire to interview Sobhan gaaru was unstoppable, and I tried fervently to get hold of Sobhan gaari phone number. When I called him, he lifted the phone and talked so nicely, much to my surprise! Though he was so very elder to me, he always used to address me as gaaru and used to enquire affectionately each time - "baagunnaraa?"

After our first telephonic conversation, which lasted for about half an hour, with mostly me introducing myself as he enquired more about me. He was happy to know that I am from his friends' circle and the son of someone he knew, and he enquired about my family a lot. Then, after six or seven months, I called him to wish him on his birthday, which made him very happy and he enquired how I was, and he remembered where I stayed, etc., to my surprise! I used to call him twice or thrice a year since then, and surely so on his birthdays.

He always used to remember me and used to ask about my family and he never seemed to miss a thing about me! I can never forget such affection that I was lucky to have a share of. He always used ask me "eppuDu vastunnaaru? tappakunDaa ranDi... You can stay with us in Chennai." I knew that he'd not remember my face as he saw me only as a kid, but the affection in his words was genuinely heartfelt.

...When I talked to Sarada gaaru, Jayasudha gaaru, L. Vijayalakshmi gaaru, etc., they always said that Sree Sobhan Babu was so warm and nice and that he was always a big support to them. In fact, how he inspired or helped so many people can be written in volumes and volumes. Jayasudha gaaru mentioned that he was like a close friend with whom she could share anything, sometimes even things that others in her family didn't know of! ...Like we all know, he gracefully retired from the arc light hustle when he was still playing hero roles and never entered the field again! He struggled to settle as an actor despite giving a huge hit in the form of Veerabhimanyu, and he knew how the glittering life of veteran artistes ended up in poor state as they were not as planned in their career as they could be, and this inspired him to take a retirement while he was still saleable. That was a bold step to take, and unlike many others that walked back into the studios, he didn't return ...even to film industry celebrations or events.

...I do admit that he had not done anything to the film industry as such, such as building studios or making films, but then, it's to be noted that he did a lot to the society that gave him the star status. He built a school, an orphanage, and did a lot of charity work without wanting any publicity. Nearly four hundred people are dependent on him in his real estate business. He was inspirational to many, as a philosopher, uncle, father, brother... and above all, a loving, kind-hearted person to everyone. Every year, I get at least ten e-mails from fans around the world, reminding me of his birthday and enquiring how he was doing and if I spoke to him.

...I am still really unable to digest that he is no more, and I end as I sing to myself one of his songs: chukkaa chukkaa kanneeTichukkaa, chekkiTa jaaroddu... (Sarpayaagam). May his soul rest in peace.

Next page : Raghuvaran A versatile Artiste

Raghuvaran: A Versatile Artiste

When Pasivaadi Praanam was a big hit, the credit was gone to the child artiste Baby Sujitha, though Raghuvaran was surely noticed. However, it was with Shiva that he became well-known. His hairdo and his way of acting caught up with the youngsters everywhere. He was repeated in the same role when the film was made in Hindi, and he became very popular in Hindi too! Veteran actor Dilip Kumar also complimented him when they did a Hindi film with together.

We used to go to Devi theatre (in Hyderabad) every Sunday just to watch him and to see the songs in the film. We used to block tickets much in advance to avoid the disappointment of not getting tickets in the last minute. In my relatively less exposure to films - both Indian and international - Anjali became a favorite film of mine and I liked performances of Baby Shamili and Raghuvaran a lot. I used argue with my friends that one has to watch the film just for him. Then I heard about his drugs and drinking problems and felt for him, though there was not anything that I could do.

When I heard that Rohini was in love with him, I was surprised. One day I was going to Chennai and I saw them sitting right next to me in the airport lounge. Rohini just then received the National Award for her performance in Padava Prayaanam based on the much-coveted story by Sree Palagummi Padmaraju gaaru. I wanted to talk to them, but I didn't know what to talk and glanced at the book in my hand, still considering how I could accost them. I couldn't take any initiative, we all got into the plane, and parted ways after landing. I was returning to Hyderabad the very next day, and much to my astonishment, the scene in the airport lounge repeated, and Raghuvaran and Rohini were again right next to me!

This time, I gathered enough courage to go up speak to them, and I congratulated her. He apparently recognized seeing me earlier, since he asked me with a surprise, "meeru ninnE kadaa vacchaaru!?" but I only spoke very little with him. ...In the little time I saw them together, I could clearly see that Rohini was so very caring towards him and talked to him so lovingly that it really came as a great shock to me when I heard that they got separated!

...He was a great actor and a good human being, as far as I knew. He did set himself as an example, albeit a bad one, that addiction towards drugs or alcohol taxes emotional life and personal health. May his soul rest in peace. Hope Rohini gaaru and Sai Rishi get enough courage and cope with the loss.

Article by: Sri
Edited by Nachaki