Tirupati: When the creaking wooden door swung open to reveal this scrawny, lungi-clad, aged person, it was hard to take him as the famed theatre personality. Behind the glitter of the ‘Golden Nandi’ award received 17 years back lies the untold story of Sunkara Sundara Babu’s poverty.
Sundara Babu’s name rings a bell in the traditional theatre circles in and around Tirupati as a veteran artist, but today, he stares at a bleak future, thanks to the dwindling patronage to traditional art forms. Apart from being a reputed painter known for background settings, this 87-year-old is an actor, producer, director, music director, lyricist, harmonium player and vocalist, all rolled into one.
His ‘Padya Natakam’ (poetic play) on ‘Srinivasa Kalyanam’ won him the prestigious award in May 1999, which he received from the then Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu. Though he wielded the microphone, conducted music and created the stage, the award came his way for the excellent stage decoration and draping.
‘Mahiravana,’ ‘Vinayaka Vijayam,’ ‘Urvasi Sapavimochanam,’ ‘Annamayya,’ ‘Srikrishna Rayabaram,’ ‘Kurukshetram,’ ‘Gayopakhyanam,’ ‘Lava Kusa,’ ‘Bala Nagamma,’ ‘Tarasasankam’ and ‘Satya Harischandra’ are some of the other plays that catapulted him to fame.
Sundara Babu lives in his old house in Vedallacheruvu village near Renigunta along with his daughter, whose only source of living is tailoring, while his son and two other daughters live elsewhere. The veteran is also known to train up-and-coming stage actors. “All the youth of our village Harijanwada are my disciples. Give us one day, we will prepare the script and backdrop for any play,” he says, with confidence sparkling in his eyes.
‘Sesha Sayanam’ (serpent bed for Lord Vishnu), huge thrones, doorways with bizarre-looking demons, molehills and ice-capped Kailash mountains are some of his master creations on plywood/curtains that have set the stage ablaze.
Defying his age, he still offers consultation to young artists on acting, and producers on stage setting. After performing ‘Krishnanjaneya Yuddham’ at Durgasamudram village last year, he is now busy wielding the tool kit for ‘Mahiravana,’ which has secured entry into Sri Venkateswara Natyakala Parishat’s theatre festival scheduled for mid-December here.
