Bapu | |
|---|---|
 Bapu when conferred with the "Viswa Vikhyata Darsaka Maharshi" award in 2014 | |
| Born | Sattiraju Lakshminarayana (1933-12-15)15 December 1933 |
| Died | 31 August 2014(2014-08-31) (aged 80) |
| Alma mater | University of Madras |
| Spouse | Bhagyavathi |
| Awards | Padma Shri (2013) |
| Website | bapuartcollection.com |
Sattiraju Lakshminarayana (15 December 1933 – 31 August 2014), known professionally asBapu, was an Indian film director, painter, illustrator, cartoonist, screenwriter, music artist, and designer known for his works inTelugu cinema, andHindi cinema.[1] In 2013, he was awarded thePadma Shri, for his contribution to Indian art and cinema.[2] He has garnered two National Honors, twoNational Film Awards, seven stateNandi Awards, twoFilmfare Awards South, aRaghupathi Venkaiah Award, and aFilmfare Lifetime Achievement Award – South.
Bapu's directorial ventureSakshi (1967) was showcased atTashkent International film festival in 1968.[3]Seeta Kalyanam (1976) was screened at theBFI London Film Festival,Chicago International Film Festival, San Reno and Denver International Film Festivals in 1978, and is part of the course at theBritish Film Institute.[4]Tyagayya (1981) andPelli Pustakam (1991) were premiered at the Indian Panorama of theInternational Film Festival of India.[5] Bapu's 2011 film,Sri Rama Rajyam, had a special screening atInternational Film Festival of India on 28 November 2011.[6]
In 1996, he appeared in theDoordarshan DocumentaryEminent Cartoonists of India, and was awarded Lifetime Achievement fromIndian Institute of Cartoonists in 2001. He gained international recognition through his art works viz.,Bapu Bomma,The Navarasas, and theIndian Dances etc., which were held at theNational Film Theatre, London, in 1978 and at the innumerable Telugu Conferences in the United States.[7] He has worked as a graphic artist forJ Walter Thomson,Efficient Publicities andF. D. Stewarts, Chennai.[8]
In 1964, he was a delegate at theUNESCO sponsored seminar in Bangalore onChildren's Books. The same year, he gave demonstrations for the training course programme on book illustrations and cover designs sponsored by UNESCO in Chennai. In the 1960s he has served as art Consultant forFord Foundation sponsoredThe Southern Language Book Trust. He has designed and illustrated several books for leading publishers in South India out of which, five received Government Awards. He has also done the same for innumerable works drawn fromPuranas andfolklore.[8]
Bapu was born on 15 December 1933,[9] inNarsapuram, in present-dayWest Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh,India to Sattiraju Venugopala Rao and Suryakantam. He has worked as a political cartoonist for the newspaperAndhra Patrika in 1945. He holds B.Com. (1953) and BL (1955) fromUniversity of Madras.[8]
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Bapu's paintings focus onHindu mythological characters, and he has painted the Hindu epicRamayana as a pictorialstory. His character portrayals, such asShiva,Bhima,Duryodhana, look distinctly male with wide chests, large jaws and large biceps; whileKrishna andRama are more feminine in build.
His paintings have decorated the cover pages of many magazines in India and Abroad. Telugu Naadi Magazine published from US for Telugu audience have published Bapu's great paintings. Bapu also later served on their advisory board to guide and have an outstanding content for the magazine that catered to Telugu people.
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Bapu's family was staying in Madras and in 1942, when the Japanese bombed Madras, there was a panic exodus and Bapu's family moved to Narasapuram and stayed there till 1945, when the Second World War ended. Bapu studied in Taylor High School, Narasapuram during these years.
Mullapudi Venkataramana's father, who was working as a Sub-Registrar was posted at Narasapuram during the years 1942-45 and so, Venkataramana also studied in Taylor high School, Narasapram, during those years. They were classmates during those three years and that is how their association started. They continued schooling at Kesari High School, Madras. Ramana's first short story 'Amma Maata Vinakapote' was published in 1945 in 'Bala', a children's magazine published by Radio Annayya (Nyayapathi Raghava Rao), he was 14 then. Bapu illustrated the story. That was the beginning of their career as a writer-producer -illustrator- filmmaker duo".
Started as an illustrator-story writer team and then turning into a film-director-writer duo, they have contributed immensely to the enrichment of Telugu cultural ethos through literature and cinema. When one mentions Bapu, then one is bound to mention Ramana's name too and vice versa. The most notable achievement in his movie making is his success in capturing the nativity of Telugu people and translating it great on-screen visuals.
Ventures likeSampoorna Ramayanam,Ramanjaneya Yuddham andSeeta Kalyanam have been the milestones of Telugu cinema, while historical films likeThyagayya,Bhakta Kannappa andShreenatha kavisarvabhouma have been hugely successful. Bapu-Ramana combination has created movie magic on the large screen with some of the path breaking films in Telugu cinema and are ever remembered for films likeRadha kalyanam,Velugu needalu,Bharyabhartalu,Bhogimanta,Mutyala Muggu, 'Sakshi,Mr. Pellam',Pelli Pustakam. The duo directedMana Voori Pandavulu (1978) which won theFilmfare Award for Best Film - Telugu.
Bapu is known for his classic movies in Indian cinema, Bapu has directedHindi films such asHum Paanch,Bezubaan,Woh Saat Din,Mohabbat,Pyari Behna,Mera Dharam,Diljalaa,Prem Pratigyaa andParamaatma.
Bapu had suffered heart attacks many times throughout his career. He was admitted into a hospital at Chennai in mid August 2014. He suffered from a cardiac arrest on 31 August 2014, and died later on the same day.[10]
He was given a state funeral by the Government of Tamil Nadu.[11]
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Those marked as * are Hindi films
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link),Deccan Chronicle (27 November 2011).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link). bapubomma.com| International | |
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