Koccharlakota Satyanarayana

Koccharlakota Satyanarayana was a Telugu film actor, playback singer during the first half of the 20th century. He died at the age of 54 after putting up a grand performance in the world of cinema. He will be cherished forever by the Telugu film fraternity. He was greatly respected and honored by his peers and subordinates. He never mistreated any one beneath him and led a simple, but fulfilled life. He developed a penchant for singing in the twilight of his life. Before stepping into a singer’ shoes, he was a well-established actor. He had done quite a lot of theatre and his experience proved to give him an edge over others. He grew up under the jurisdiction of a Zamindari family in the West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh. In the 1910s, his grandparents were his guardians and he spent his childhood with them.

He liked singing and he sang along to the tunes that played on the gramophone. He shifted to the city of Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh and enrolled himself into high school. He collaborated with Kesari Samajam who belonged with Machiraju Ramachandra Murthy and got into acting. He performed drama with skill and caliber. He came from a wealthy family and so, he donated money to libraries and schools. He was charitable and sympathetic from a very young age. He acted in the classic theatricals Pratapa Rudreeyam and Chintamani. He progressed into the field of cinema making after getting commended for his dramatics at high school level. He entered the film industry through his role in Draupadi Vastrapaharanam (1936).

He performed the character of Sahadeva with utmost grace. He bagged important roles which were crucial to the plot of the drama and he handled himself well under the pressure of performance. He appeared as Krishna in the epic tale of Jarasandha (1938). His acting was so convincing that the audience was mesmerized. He illustrated the character of Basavaraju in Vara Vikrayam, which is a famous novel and play. It defocuses and discouraged the dowry system that prevailed in India. Koccharlakota showed his diversity by playing an unconventional character with utmost elegance. He presented himself as a playback singer and actor in Malli Pelli (1939). He enacted the character of Venkata Rao in the same. He appeared as Lakshmana in Paduka Pattabhishekam (1945). He joined Prabhat Theatres to play the roles of Arjuna in Pandava, Vangala Rao in Bobbili Yudham and Kalidas in Kalidas. He died in Eluru.