Telugu cinema lovers can never erase the beautiful memories of the classic film \u2018Lava Kusa\u2019 from their heads. It stands timeless among a myriad of classics. Even today, audiences slip into devotional trance when \u201cVinudu Vinudu Ramayana Gaadha\u2019 plays. Apart from NTR and Anjali\u2019s memorable performances, actors Nagaraju and Naga Subrahmanyam who played Lava and Kusa characters respectively became extremely popular. It was the first color film in Telugu released in 1963 under the direction of C Pullaiah and CS Rao. Ghantasala and KV Mahadevan composed music.<\/p>\n
Nagaraju who played the character of \u2018Lava\u2019 died in the early hours today. He and Naga Subrahmanyam who played \u2018Kusa\u2019 in the film remained close friends even after 57 years of the movie\u2019s release. An interesting fact about \u2018Lava Kusa\u2019 is that it took five years to complete the filming due to various hassles.<\/p>\n
Actors by chance<\/strong><\/p>\n Naga Subrahmanyam who played \u2018Kusa\u2019 was born in Amalapuram. He was trained in the art of rendering \u2018Burra Katha\u2019 by his father and started performing at the age of eight. Director C Pulliah attended one of his performances and gave him Kusa\u2019s character in the film after getting impressed with his \u2018Burra Katha\u2019 skills at the age of eleven.<\/p>\n Lava\u2019s character was played by Nagaraju in the film. His father AV Subba Rao was an accomplished actor who starred in films like \u2018Keelugurram\u2019, \u2018Palleturi Pilla\u2019 and \u2018Pedda Manushulu\u2019. Nagaraju was spotted by veteran actor Chittoor Nagaiah who casted him in Lord Rama\u2019s role in \u2018Bhakta Ramadasu\u2019 movie. Nagaraju went on to act in another two films before he was chosen to play \u2018Lava\u2019 by his father\u2019s friend, director C Pullaiah.<\/p>\n It is interesting to note that the roles of \u2018Lava\u2019 and \u2018Kusa\u2019 were given to Nagaraju and Naga Subrahmanyam based on their behaviour. Lava\u2019s character which is supposed to be active was given to Nagaraju and Kusa\u2019s character suited Subrahmanyam\u2019s calm demeanour. They were trained for two hours daily for six months by Vempati Pedda Satyam and China Satyam in dance, archery and dialogue delivery. Subrahmanyam went on to star in \u2018Seetaramakalyanam\u2019, \u2018Venkateswara Mahatyam\u2019 and \u2018Velugu Needalu\u2019 after \u2018Lava Kusa\u2019.<\/p>\n Nagaraju played the role of \u2018Kapila Maharshi\u2019 in the serial \u2018Gomatha Vaibhavam\u2019 produced by Paripoornananda Swamy. Nagaraju and Subrahmanyam didn\u2019t meet for a while after \u2018Lava Kusa\u2019 released, but after a chance meeting in Amalapuram, they have remained close friends until Nagaraju\u2019s death. Subrahmanyam settled in Amalapuram as a tailor and has three sons while Nagaraju settled in Gandhi Nagar, Hyderabad. He is survived by three daughters.<\/p>\n Nagaraju died today due to his ill health. He is in fact younger than Subrahmanyam but was suffering with health ailments for a long time. This would be a major loss for Subrahmanyam as they lived as brothers all through the life. May his soul rest in peace.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Telugu cinema lovers can never erase the beautiful memories of the classic film \u2018Lava Kusa\u2019 from their heads. It stands timeless among a myriad of classics. Even today, audiences slip into devotional trance when \u201cVinudu Vinudu Ramayana Gaadha\u2019 plays. Apart from NTR and Anjali\u2019s memorable performances, actors Nagaraju and Naga Subrahmanyam who played Lava and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":4639,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[31,121],"tags":[916,915,914,454],"yoast_head":"\n