Director Bapu remembers Subrahmanyam for his natural comedy

Chennai: Director Bapu aka Sattiraju Lakshmi Narayana, who introduced actor A.V. Subrahmanyam into Telugu films, says the late actor`s biggest strength was making people laugh effortlessly.

Subrahmanyam, who died Friday due to liver-related problems, made his cinematic debut with Subrahmanyam`s Telugu family drama `Mr. Pellam`. "Writer Indraganti Srikanth Sarma introduced Subrahmanyam to me. He was doing a comedy show on Doordarshan at that time and was also working as a journalist. I still remember him for his ability to make people laugh effortlessly and that was his strength," Bapu said. In `Mr. Pellam`, Subrahmanyam played a manager with a lisp. "He was extremely talented and had a great knack for mimicry and it didn`t take me much time to like him. His early death is industyr`s loss," said the director. `Mr. Pellam` was Subrahmanyam`s first Telugu release, but he had donned the greasepaint for the first time for Telugu historical film `Srinadha Kavi Sarvabhowma`, which was also directed by Bapu. "He was first cast for my film `Srinadha Kavi Sarvabhowma` alongside NTR (Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao), but it released few years later. Meanwhile, I roped him in for my next film `Mr. Pellam`." "He even won a Nandi Award for his role in that film. I`m sure thousands of movie would remember his catchphrase from the film," said Bapu. In a career of over two decades, Subrahmanyam starred in nearly 400 films. Some of his best films include `Yamaleela", `Sisindri`, `Intlo Illalu Vantaintlo Priyuralu` and `Venky`. He had also directed four movies namely `Super Heroes`, `Ori Ni Prema Bangaaram Kaanu`, `Room Mates` and `Kothimooka`. Follow @aparnamudi Follow @nanya116