The Man who refused to grow young : A tribute to Gummadi

Try as you might, you cannot shake of your 'image' easily in Indian films. As an actor, if you are branded as good in something, you remain that, come hell or high weather. Many have tried to break the shackles and very few have succeeded. After the initial struggle, many slowly settle back into their assigned roles. Gummadi Venkateswara Rao, popularly known as Gummadi, who passed away recently, was one such actor, who was branded as a great character actor, and he remained so till he quit films due to old age. In Gummadi's case, you can see that he enjoyed the roles he was doing and didn't care how he was branded. He was younger to actors like NTR but he never worried that he had to play to NTR's elder brother or father. He started playing elderly roles from his young age and continued playing them till he was old. He never grew young.

To those who grew up watching Telugu films in 60s, 70s and 80s, Gummadi was a constant figure. As the father, grandfather, the elder brother or the elderly neighbor. He was always the minister and not the king. If he were to be a king, the film would be about the minister!! They always chose him for the oldest role in the film. If the film was about brothers, he was the elder one. If it was about a family, he was the father. If the hero was a father, Gummadi would be the grandfather. If they wanted him in Mahabharatha, it was for the role of 150 yr old Bheeshma !! That is how many would remember Gummadi of their childhood days.

When you watch him now, after life has taught you some lessons, you can see that in every role he played, be it a weeping father unable to help his daughter, a Dasaratha helpless in the face of his wife's cruelty, an elder brother upset over his younger brother's behavior, he brought in a sense of dignity. His gentle and handsome face, the bearing with which he conducted himself, his ability to make his presence felt without dominating the scene, everything pointed to a man of great dignity and compassion. In other words, he fitted the bill perfectly for being a 'character actor', as they call in our films. In later days, when I saw him on TV, attending functions, the word would flash in my mind. 'Dignity'. He was clearly the elder who demanded and got your respect.

Gummadi, as an actor, was a like a river flowing in the plains. His was a steady style of acting, if such a thing exists, that is. What I mean here is that you can be sure that Gummadi would do his role to perfection. He will not dominate the proceedings but when called upon, will deliver what is needed from him. You can clearly see that he was a professional to the core. I would contrast this with his contemporary, S V Ranga Rao, who was like a river flowing in the mountains. In some places the river flows quite and deep, in some places in gurgles and in others it is a roaring waterfall. S V Ranga Rao, like Gummadi, would deliver what his role required to perfection but when needed, he would completely dominate the scene. Be it the lecherous Keechaka in 'Narthanashala', Ravana in 'Sampoorna Ramayanam' or Hiranyakashibhu, torn between his love for absolute control and the love for his child, in 'Bhaktha Prahalada'. You couldn't watch anyone else on the screen when S V Ranga Rao was in his elements. In Gummadi's case, there are very few instances where you would have watched him alone but if he were not present in the scene, the scene would have been less effective. His was the acting which complemented everyone else and made the scene complete. (Sometimes it would be funny watching aged actors like NTR, Satyanarayana, Prabhakar Reddy et al acting as youngsters, with ridiculous wigs, huge bell bottoms, checked shirts and all. Standing next to them would be a stately Gummadi with his immaculately white dhoti. This would just increase the ludicrousness of the scene. A perfect setting for a modern day parody.)

Gummadi always played the stereotype. As anyone seriously studying stereotypes would know, behind each stereotype lies a greater cultural truth. Gummadi, in his stereotype, represented something. That something was a middle class or a lower middle class man, whose main aim in life was to live a life of dignity. Beyond all the struggles lie this search for a dignified existence amidst the injustice around. He portrayed a man of limited talents and limited resources, who strives hard to ensure the happiness of his near and dear ones. And wants to obtain that happiness keeping his dignity intact. Something which many people in India, in cities or villages, are constantly striving for. Added to it, this stereotype was also the moral center of the film.

As you get into your middle years, you slowly realize that the unrealistic heros no longer resonate with you and what they do doesn't interest you any longer. You now start to feel that irrespective of the successes or failures, if you can live your life with the dignity without compromising on your moral values, something that Gummadi portrayed so effectively on the screen, you have done well for yourself.

P.S: My thanks to my friend Subbu, for reminding me that a tribute to Gummadi was due.