Popular Telugu actor Chandramohan passed away in a private hospital here on Saturday morning.
The 82-year-old actor had been suffering for some time with multiple ailments. On November 11, his wife Jalandhara and other family members rushed him to Apollo Hospital in Jubilee Hills after his condition deteriorated.
Apollo Hospital sources said the actor was brought to the emergency department after being unresponsive for 20 minutes. He had a history of peritoneal dialysis and ischemic cardiomyopathy. On arrival, there was no carotid pulse. He was resuscitated for 55 minutes but could not attain ROSC, and the ECG showed aystole. The actor was declared dead at 9.57 am, the hospital source said.
Family members said the last rites of the late actor will be performed on Monday. Condolences poured in for the departed actor, best remembered for acting as a hero, comedian and character actor. Born on May 23, 1943, in Pamidimukkala village in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh as Mallampalli Chandrasekhara Rao, a BSc (Agriculture) graduate from Agriculture College, Bapatla, Chandramohan made a mark for himself in Telugu films bagging awards and accolades.
A government employee with the agricultural department, Chandramohan was a reluctant entrant into the industry despite his theatre and stage experience. He was goaded and encouraged by his brother-in-law to audition for Rangula Ratnam in Madras. After he got selected for the film, the offers started coming, and Chandramohan never looked back. Rangula Ratnam was followed by Sukha Dukhalu in 1968, where he played Vanisri’s brother. His good looks, dialogue delivery, and dancing skills helped him grab versatile roles, and he went on to act with top heroines like Jayasudha, Jayaprada and Sridevi.
Like Rishi Kapoor in Bollywood, Chandramohan was known to have starred with many debutant heroines in the Telugu film industry. Many actresses would call him their lucky mascot. In a career spanning over five decades, Chandramohan acted in over 900 films. He won the Best Actor award for 1978 Sridevi-starrer Padaharella Vayasu, where Kamal Haasan played the lead in the Tamil version. The film Chandamama Raave brought him the Best Male Comedian award, and he went on to bag the Nandi Best Character Actor award in 2006 for Athanokkade. His first Tamil film was Naalai Namadhe (1975).
Chandramohan is remembered for his sterling performance in Seetamalakshmi (1978), Ram Robert Rahim (1980), Radha Kalyanam (1981), Rendu Rella Aaru (1985), Chantabbai (1986), Neeku Naaku Pellanta (1988), Gitanjali (1989), Alludugaru (1990), Aditya 369 (1991), Ninne Pelladatha (1996), Chachi 420 (1997), Chandralekha (1998), Manasantha Nuvve (2001), Santosham (2002), Manmadhudu (2002), Okkadu (2003), 7/G Rainbow Colony (2004), Varsham (2004), Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana (2005), Dookudu (2011) and Janda Pai Kapiraju (2015).
Versatility as core
Chandramohan’s career progressed into a seamless evolution - from playing lead roles as a hero to comedian to powerful character portrayals. Playing the roles of a father, an uncle, or a neighbour — Chandramohan played those characters with conviction and made them more relatable to the audience.
In an earlier interview with The Hindu, the actor had observed, “There have been many good films like Siri Siri Muvva, Subhodayam, Sitamalakshmi, Padaharella Vayasu, etc, but before I quit films, I want to do one film, one good character role that will revolve around me and give me complete satisfaction.”
One cannot say if the late actor was ever satisfied with his roles and acting, but the Telugu film industry and its audience will remember Chandramohan as one of the most versatile and multi-talented artistes.
