Nirmalamma... one name that everyone can connect to, as one's own grandmother. Who would bother if "Telugu Cinema baamma" was born Rajamani in Machilipatnam in 1925. She was baamma to everyone, since she got promoted to grandma roles circa 1980. Until then, of course, she was "Telugu Cinema amma" for 20-30 years or more! Though she was married to G.V. Krishna Rao at an age of 19, she agreed to marriage only because her husband, himself a production manager, was encouraging towards her acting career. With stalwarts like Prithvi Raj Kapoor (during the play "karuvu rOjulu" at Kakinada) and 'kavi samraaT' Viswanatha Satyanarayana (while staging his play "Ekaveera") appreciating her stage performances as an actress, she didn't have to think twice before she leapt from plays on the stage or the radio to the silver screen.
Thus, Nirmalamma debuted in Garuda Garvabhangam (1943). However, at a young age, she graduated to character roles, which led her to act, by early '60s, as the mother of super stars NTR, ANR, and even SVR, though she was actually younger than all of them! Still, her acting prowess let her play any role with ease, thus paving way to making hers a household name for motherly roles. By the time she was appreciated for her role in Manushulu Maaraali (1969) by one and all including Bollywood artistes like Praan, she developed her distinct style of natural acting. How many movies can you remember her in anything other than a white or a beige colored saree? That's it, she didn't need much preparation for a role even on the outside! She was just there, naturally in the role that was given to her! Even in a minor role in films such as Shh... gapchup! (1994), Nirmalamma made her presence felt with expressions that are so very apt to the scene. In overt comedy scenes in films such as Maayalodu (1993) or Alibaba Ara-dozen Dongalu (1993), she did not mind wearing a long gown or half-saree to evoke comedy - such was her love towards acting!
Nirmalamma portrayed roles in mythological movies too, in motherly roles mostly. (It might surprise some people to note that she acted opposite veteran actor M. Balayya in the role of Rukmini in the mythological film Krishna Prema (1961), the only mythological directed by Adurti Subbarao.) It was not just soft motherly roles that she was known for. Who can forget her portrayal of the loud 'paaDi' Sundaramma in Vamsy's Sree Kanaka Mahalakshmi Recording Dance Troupe (1988), swearing "naadi donga mohamaa? needi donga moham... nee attadi donga moham, mee ammadi donga moham, mee kuTumbamlO andarivii donga mohaalE, mee amma kaDupulu maaDa, mee nOLLu paDipOnU... naadi donga mohamaa!?" as she enters! Or, who can forget her Nandi Award-winning villainous performance in Seetharamaraju (1999)! (She won a Nandi Award for her supporting role in Usha Kiron Movies' Mayuri (1985) too.) How natural she was in yelling at her grandson (played by Chandramohan) in Sankarabharanam (1980) as she scolds about mispronouncing rishabham as vRshabham! How about her touching performance when she's insulted at Rao Gopala Rao's house in Aa Okkatii Adakku! (1993) and the outcry of a self-esteemed mother in her when she reacts at the face of Rajendra Prasad later? She was also a comedian that excelled in the films of many directors, including Late Jandhyala, Relangi Narasimha Rao, E.V.V. Satyanarayana, and S.V. Krishna Reddy. In most films with Rajendra Prasad and/or Chandramohan as the grandson, she appeared in grandmother roles that had ample comedy and a touch of sentiment, thus giving us more than a few memorable movies that can be watched on any holiday afternoon. Another such a touching mother's role was in Swathi Muthyam (1986), with the expert actor Kamal Hasan as her son.
