Actor · Telugu cinema
Sobhan Babu
Sobhan Babu movies: 78 Telugu films on file, 1959–1995. Earliest on file: Daiva Balam (1959). Latest release: Adavi Dora (13 October 1995).
- Films on file
- 78 (78 as actor)
- Years on file
- 1959–1995
- Born
- 14 January 1937 · January birthdays (Wikidata)
- Died
- 20 March 2008
- Selected films on file
- Lava Kusha, Devata, Kathanayika Molla
- Record
- Q1802784 on Wikidata
Sobhan Babu (born Uppu Sobhana Chalapathi Rao) was an Indian actor in Telugu cinema who starred in more than 200 films over a career of more than thirty-five years. He won four Filmfare Awards for Best Actor – Telugu, for Khaidi Babai (1974), Jeevana Jyothi (1975), Soggadu (1976) and Karthika Deepam (1979), and appeared in National Award-winning films such as Sita Rama Kalyanam (1961), Mahamantri Timmarusu (1962) and Lava Kusha (1963).
He was born on 14 January 1937 in Krishna district, according to Wikipedia and Wikidata. He went to school at Kuntamukkula, Mylavaram, took a B.Sc. in physics at Andhra Christian College, Guntur, and then studied law in Madras so he could pursue a film career. He died on 20 March 2008, aged 71 (The Hindu).
Career
His first film was Bhakta Sabari (1959), but Daiva Balam (1959) was released first. His films of the 1960s include Seetha Rama Kalyanam, Bhishma (1962), Nartanasala (1963), which was shown at the 3rd Afro-Asian Film Festival, Veerabhimanyu (1965), Gudachari 116 (1966) and Poola Rangadu (1967). Bangaru Panjaram (1969) received a Special Mention at the 4th International Film Festival of India.
His many later films include Manushulu Marali (1969), Desamante Manushuloyi (1970), Kalyana Mandapam and Chelleli Kapuram (1971), Sampoorna Ramayanam (1972), Sharada (1973), Manchi Manushulu (1974), Jeevana Jyothi, Soggadu, Kurukshetram (1977), Mallepoovu (1978), Gorintaku and Karthika Deepam (1979), Devata (1982) and Mundadugu (1983). He kept working into the 1990s; our records list Balarama Krishnulu (1992), Evandi Aavida Vachindi (1993) and Adavi Dora (1995) among his last films. A statue of him was unveiled in Kurnool in 2012.
Awards
- Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu for Khaidi Babai, Jeevana Jyothi, Soggadu and Karthika Deepam (Wikipedia winners list; archived Filmfare winners list).
- Special Mention at the 4th IFFI for Bangaru Panjaram.
Personal life
He married Santhakumari on 15 May 1958, according to Wikipedia, citing DNA. They had three daughters and a son.
Sources: Wikipedia and the references it cites (linked above), Wikidata, and Tollywood Desk’s film records.
Career on file
Sobhan Babu appears in 78 Telugu films on file at Tollywood Desk, dated from 1959 to 1995. The earliest of them is Daiva Balam (1959), and the most recent release is Adavi Dora (1995). The most widely covered of these, counted by Wikipedia language editions, are Lava Kusha (1963), Devata (1982) and Kathanayika Molla (1970). Other recent releases on file are Evandi Aavida Vachindi (1993), Aswamedham (1992) and Balarama Krishnulu (1992).
Kaikala Satyanarayana is the most frequent co-star, sharing 26 films with Sobhan Babu, followed by Gummadi Venkateswara Rao (25) and Allu Rama Lingaiah (21). Among directors, V. Madhusudhan Rao cast Sobhan Babu most often, in nine films; next are Kasinathuni Viswanath (7) and Kamalakara Kameshwara Rao (5). Music on 20 of them is by K. V. Mahadevan, with K. Chakravarthy (10) and S. Rajeswara Rao (6) next. Suresh Productions produced five of them, more than any other banner on file. Across these films the credits on file name 43 different directors, 25 music directors and 92 other credited actors.
Runtime is on file for 38 of them; they average 161 minutes, and the longest is Shri Krishnavataram at 211 minutes. By decade the list splits into 1950s (1), 1960s (27), 1970s (33), 1980s (13) and 1990s (4). 1969 is the busiest single year, with seven films.
Figures come from the films on file at Tollywood Desk and change as records are added.