Kalyanam Raghuramaiah | |
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Born | Kalyanam Venkata Subbaiah 5 March 1901 Suddapalli village, Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh, India |
Died | 24 February 1975 Hyderabad, India | (aged 73)
Occupation(s) | Actor Thespian |
Spouse | Savitri |
Children | Thota Satyavathi (daughter) |
Awards | Sangeet Natak Akademi Award 1973 Padma Shri 1975 |
Kalyanam Raghuramaiah (1901–1975), popularly known as Eelapata Raghuramaiah, was an Indian actor, and thespian known for his works in Telugu cinema, and Telugu theatre. A recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, and the Padmashri, He was known for the roles of Krishna or Dushyantha, Bhavanisankar, Narada etc. He performed those roles for about 60 years. He indulged in elaborate raga alapana, based on different ragas while rendering padyams.[1][2][3]
One of the finest method actors, he had the ability to sing padyams and songs through whistle, by putting his finger in mouth and producing the whistle or flute sound (meaning Eela in Telugu). He has acted in various dramas and gave more than 20,000 stage performances.[4] He was called the "Nightingale of the Stage" by Rabindranath Tagore.[1]