Forbes listed 25 Great Acting Performances of Indian Cinema. Surprisingly, Only one Telugu actor found a place in elite list. And the special person is none other than JV Somayajulu for the landmark film ‘Sankarabharanam.
Somayajulu, an IAS officer in his 50s, plays a Carnatic musician who was misunderstood by the society for supporting the daughter of a prostitute at times when pop music has overtaken classical music. He played his part with such dignity and intensity that you can’t listen to any of its hugely popular songs without imagining him performing them as his sadhana.
Sankarabharanam opened to empty seats, became a super hit with unbelievable mouth talk and now enjoys a cult status.
Forbes Complete List:
HINDI: Balraj Sahni (Garam Hawa, 1974); Utpal Dutt (Bhuvan, 1969); Amitabh Bachchan (Deewar, 1975); Amjad Khan (Sholay, 1975); Sanjeev Kumar (Angoor, 1982); Dilip Kumar (Devdas, 1955); Naseeruddin Shah (Sparsh, 1980); Nutan (Bandini, 1963); Smita Patil (Mirch Masala, 1987); Rekha (Umrao Jaan, 1981);
TELUGU: Somayajulu (Sankarabharanam, 1980).
KANNADA: Dr Rajkumar (Bangaaradha Manushya, 1972).
MALAYALAM: Mammooty (Mathilukal, 1989); Mohanlal (Bharatham, 1991).
TAMIL: Sivaji Ganesan (Parasakthi, 1952); Rajinikanth (Thillu Mullu, 1981); Revathi (Mouna Ragam, 1986), Kamal Haasan (Mahanadi, 1994).
BENGALI: Supriya Choudhury (Meghe Dhaka Tara, 1960); Soumitra Chatterjee, 1961); Chhabi Biswas (Jalsaghar, 1958); Uttam Kumar (Nayak, 1966); Ananya Chatterjee (Abohomaan, 2010).
MARATHI: Upendra Limaye (Jogwa, 2009); Nilu Phule (Samna, 1975).