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Nagesh (born C. Krishna Rao Gundu Rao; 27 September
1933 – 31 January 2009), was a Tamil film actor,
mostly remembered for his roles as a comedian
during the 1960s. He is regarded as one of the most prolific comedians
in Tamil cinema.
Nagesh was born in a Kannada family from Dharapuram,
Erode.
He was educated in Madras and worked as a clerk in the Indian Railways before entering Tamil film industry. He
acted in over 1,000 Indian films from 1958 to
2008, performing in variety of roles as comedian,
lead roles, supporting actor and antagonist. He died on
31 January 2009.
In a stark contrast to the comic roles he performed, Nagesh\'s
personal life was wrought with suffering. After losing his father at an
early age, Nagesh had to endure a weak financial situation and family
ostracism which plagued him throughout his life. The film Server Sundaram, a rags-to-riches story in which
Nagesh plays the lead role, is believed to be roughly based on the real
life story of the actor.
Despite being primarily a comedian, Nagesh was rated highly as a character actor by his peers. Nagesh\'s style of comedy was
largely inspired by Hollywood actor Jerry
Lewis. Similarities between Nagesh and Lewis earned Nagesh the sobriquet
\"Jerry Lewis of India\".
Career
Nagesh was born as Gundu Rao to Krishna Rao and Rukmaniamma on 27
September 1933. His parents belonged to the Kannada-speaking Madhwa Brahmin community.
It is believed that he was born in Dharapuram
in Former Integrated Erode district, now changed to new Tirupur district.
His father died at an early age and the burden of educating Nagesh fell
upon his mother. In his childhood, Nagesh was afflicted by small pox which slightly disfigured him.
He left Dharapuram at an early age and moved to Madras city in search
of a career. At Madras, he shared a one-bedroom
room with two others. His room mates, writer Vaali and director Sridhar,
later became established themselves as prominent personalities in the
Tamil cine field. He found employment as a clerk in the Indian Railways and was thus able to pay his rent and cope
up with expenses.
Early career
Early in his life, he saw a Tamil play Kamba Ramayanam enacted by
his colleagues, and felt that he could do a good job. He persuaded the
secretary of the Railways cultural association to give him the role of a
man suffering from stomach pain. MGR, then chief guest, seeing this play, in his speech
praised Nagesh for his performance. From then onwards, Nagesh played
small roles in various drama troupes.
In 1958, producer Balaji spotted Nagesh and gave him his first break
in a film called Manamulla Marudhaaram. The film did not do well
at the box office. Moreover, Nagesh had only a small role to play in the
movie. In 1960, Nagesh made his debut in Kannada with Makkala Rajya.
Nagesh won critical acclaim for his performance in the 1961 movie Thayilla
Pillai. But it was his 1962 hit Nenjil Oru Aalayam which
launched his career in the Tamil film industry. Nagesh was seen playing
the lead role in Server Sundaram(1964) directed by Krishnan Panju. The
movie was a remarkable hit and proved to be a great turning point in his
career.
Rise to stardom
Server Sundaram marked Nagesh\'s rise to prominence. The film
was about a restaurant waiter \"server\" Sundaram who struggles to make
his ends meet. He is in love with Radha (K.
R. Vijaya), the daughter of the owner of the hotel in which he is
working. The film is about how with the aid of his rich friend Raghavan (R.
Muthuraman), \"server\" Sundaram gets a chance to act in movies and
eventually, emerges as a rich and prominent actor. However, he is
heartbroken when he learns that Radha is actually in love with Raghavan.
While Nagesh drives viewers into laughter with his comical antics in
the early scenes, his sensitive portrayal of a failed lover in the
second half of the movie too earned widespread appreciation. The
rags-to-riches story in the movie was actually based on Nagesh\'s own
life. With Server Sundaram, Nagesh earned critical acclaim for
versatility.
The success of Server Sundaram ensured that Nagesh was one of
the most sought-after actors in the 1960s. At the height of his career,
he acted in as much as 35 movies in a single calendar year, at one time,
shooting for six movies simultaneously. He appeared in a cameo in the
1965 mythological Thiruvilayadal in
which he portrayed the poor, simpleton temple priest Dharumi. The
soliloquy which Dharmi indulges in, within the temple precints, is
regarded as one of the unforgettable scenes of Tamil cinema. He followed
the success with supporting roles in films as Kadhalikka
Neramillai, Anbe Vaa, Shanthi
Nilayam, Pattanathil Bhootham and Vietnam Veedu.
He played the role of Mohan in Major
Chandrakant which was a popular hit and won for its lead actor Sundararajan, the nickname \"Major\"
Sundararajan. His portrayal of the detestable pimp Vaidhy in Thillana
Mohanambal was noted for the way in which Nagesh blended humour
with villany. In most of his films as comedian, Nagesh paired with the
actress Manorama. In 1967, Nagesh acted in his
first Hindi
movie Farz
Apart from performing in supporting roles, Nagesh also acted as the
main protagonist in a number of movies. Server Sundaram is one of
them. Another performance which is well-remembered is his role as the
poor struggling orphan Maadhu in Ethir
Neechal. His sensitive and sympathetic portrayal of Maadhu
evoked comparisons with top character actors of the day. Jayakanthan
chose Nagesh to play the lead in the 1966 film Yaarukkaha Azhudhan
overlooking Sivaji Ganesan.
In the 1970 movie Navakiragam K Balachandar wanted to have
Nagesh Manorama as his sidekick but Nagesh refused in the sense that he
would be and the movie would be better off as he as the main character
without Manorama. After hearing Nagesh\'s this decision Manorama refused
to act with Nagesh ever since. And they didn\'t even in Theepam which
came in the late 70\'s even though there was a scene where they both were
in but no contacts as the director agreed on Manorama\'s demand.
Financial stress
and decline
Inauguration of Nagesh Theatre with
MGR
Nagesh\'s career witnessed a decline from the mid-1970s onwards. He
was plagued by personal problems. His marriage to a Christian woman
named Regina had fractured his relationship with his mother and other
relatives. From the relationship, he had two sons, Ramesh Babu and Anand
Babu, the latter going on to be actor plagued by personal problems
in his career. In 1973, his mother died causing him irreparable grief.
At about the same time, he had a fallout with Tamil actor and politician
M. G. R. who omitted Nagesh from most of his films. Nagesh theatre
owned by him in Chennai was on the verge of getting seized for
non-payment of dues forcing Nagesh to patch up differences with M. G. R.
who subsequently bailed him out. In order to cope up with the changing
trends, Nagesh had to switch over to playing character roles full time.
Nagesh acted in a few movies during this period some of which were
hits. One of his notable roles was that of a drunkard in the 1974 Kamal Hassan-starrer Apoorva Raagangal where he talks to his own shadow
and hurls the empty glass upon it while saying \"Cheers\". In the theaters
where the film was shown the audience imitated him and threw cups on
the wall of the lobby during interval. He played the role of writer
Jayakanthan in the 1977 movie Sila Nerangalil Sila Manitharkal .
Nagesh appeared as himself in Thillu
Mullu, the Tamil remake of Golmaal.
Resurgence
Nagesh\'s career enjoyed a partial resurgence from the 1980s onwards
when he acted in a number of movies, mostly in elderly roles, some of
them as the villain. His most remembered role as a villain was in the
1989-hit Apoorva Sagodharargal. The movie
was later dubbed into Hindi as Appu Raja. He also played the
villain in Rajinikanth films Athisaya Piravi and Mounam Sammadham. His
negative roles included sadistic
schemers then muscular giants.
In the comedy flick, Michael Madana Kama Rajan,
Nagesh played the role of a dishonest secretary Avinashi who commissions
a look-alike Kameswaran to impersonate his boss, Madan, and lend him
money from Madan\'s account. He even acted as a dead body in the 1994
film Magalir Mattum. He won a National Award as Best Supporting
Actor for his role in the 1994 film Nammavar
Nagesh did a series of supporting roles in the 1990s and 2000s.
Notable among them were those of make-up artist Joseph in Avvai Shanmugi in which he
featured alongside another veteran Gemini Ganesan, Arjun\'s
father in Rhythm, Madhavan\'s
grandfather Subbuni in Minnale,
Ajit\'s Grandfather in Poovellam Un Vasam, Father Rozario in Kadhal Kondain and Kamal Hassan\'s father in Vasool Raja MBBS. His handling of these roles gained him
considerable appreciation from the public.
Nagesh had a good relationship with Kamal Hassan, with whom he had co-starred in a
variety of movies from the 1970s to the 2000s. Kamal Hassan cast Nagesh
in most of his self-productions.
Later years
Nagesh acted in Tamil films till a few months before his death in
2009. Notable among some of his later movies were Panchathanthiram, Vasool Raja MBBS, Imsai Arasan 23m Pulikesi, and
his last appearance, Dasavathaaram.
Death
Nagesh was a chain smoker and a heavy
drinker. His health began to decline in late 2008 due to heart ailments.
He died on 31 January 2009 at the age of 75 due to diabetes and a
heart ailment while he was admitted in Balaji Hospital.
His final rituals was attended by all film actors including, Tamil
Nadu ex-Chief Minister Ms. J. Jayalalitha, actor Kamal
Haasan, Rajinikanth, Manorama, Venkataramani, V. S. Raghavan
and Y. G. Mahendran.
Notable filmography
