Dikki Madhavan Rao

Dikki Madhavan Rao is also known as Murali Madhava Rao. He was an Indian singer and actor who predominantly worked in the Kannada film industry. He was born on January 15, 1919. Dikki Madhavan Rao’s place of birth is Mysore, Kingdom of Mysore. He took his school education at the city’s Wesley Mission School. Mohammed Peer and H.L.N. Simha were his seniors in the school, who would go on to become playwrights and filmmakers, respectively. He has five children – three daughters and two sons.

During his school days, Dikki Madhavan Rao was spotted and cast by A. V. Varadachar in his stage plays produced by Ratnavali Theatrical Company. He went on to portray several roles for Gubbi Veeranna’s company, Mohammed Peer’s Chandrakala Nataka Company, and Chamundeshwari Nataka Sabha. He was mainly cast to play the negative role. As a stage actor, Dikki Madhavan Rao spent much of his early years in the 1920s and 1930s before appearing in Kannada movies. In 1936, he earned popularity with his role as the antagonist Kanyakumari Dikshit “Dikki” in his first Kannada-language social drama film “Samsara Nauke,” directed by H. L. N. Simha and produced by K. Nanjappa.

Subsequently, the name “Dikki” stuck to him as a prefix. He also scored music for the film Samsara Nauke. He worked with the theatre companies of H. L. N. Simha, B. R. Panthulu, and Mohammed Peer as a stage actor. In 1955, Dikki Madhavan Rao appeared in the Tamil-Kannada bilingual film Modala Thedi, directed by P. Neelakantan and produced by B. R. Panthulu. Also, he sang a playback song, “Ondarinda Ippattara Varegu,” for the first time in the film and became famous then.

In 1961, he played a traitor in the Kannada-language historical drama film “Kitturu Chennamma,” directed & produced by B. R. Panthulu. The same year, he portrayed the villainous Beeranna in the Kannada film “Bhakta Cheta.” In 1963, he played the role of the irresponsible father of two children in the Kannada language romantic drama film “Saaku Magalu,” directed & produced by B. R. Panthullu. He portrayed the role of sage Vishvamitra in the Kannada film “Sri Ramanjaneya Yuddha,” directed by M. Nageshwara.

In 1966, he played the role of Seshappa, a corporator in the comedy film “Emme Thammanna,” directed & produced by B. R. Panthullu. His notable performances were in Krishnaleela (1947) and Rathnagiri Rahasya (1957). Throughout his four-decade film career, he has worked in over one-twenty films. On March 21, 1979, while performing on stage in Challakere, Chitradurga, Dikki Madhavan Rao had paralysis in one of his legs, which made him bedridden for six years. He died on July 14, 1985.