Chandra Mohan

Chandra Mohan (born Mallampalli Chandrasekhara Rao; died 11 November 2023) was a Telugu actor whose career ran for more than five decades and, according to The Hindu, over 900 films. He moved from lead roles to comedy and then to character parts as fathers, uncles and neighbours, and won a Filmfare Award South and two Nandi Awards.

Early life

He was born in Pamidimukkala village in Krishna district, Andhra Pradesh, and graduated from the agriculture college at Bapatla. The Hindu gives his date of birth as 23 May 1943, which is also the date on Wikidata; Wikipedia’s article gives 1945 in one place and 1946 in another. He was working for the agriculture department, The Hindu notes, when his brother-in-law encouraged him to audition for Rangula Ratnam in Madras. Wikipedia describes him as a cousin of the director K. Viswanath and the singer S. P. Balasubrahmanyam.

Career

Rangula Ratnam (1966) was his first film and brought him a state Nandi Award, and in Sukha Dukhalu (1968) he played Vanisri’s brother. He became known for starring opposite many debutant heroines, which led The Hindu to compare him to Rishi Kapoor. His best-remembered roles include Padaharella Vayasu and Seetamalakshmi (both 1978), Siri Siri Muvva, Radha Kalyanam (1981), Chantabbai (1986) and Chandamama Raave (1987).

In later decades he was a familiar face in family films, among them Aditya 369 (1991), Chandralekha (1998), Manasantha Nuvve (2001), Manmadhudu (2002), Okkadu (2003), Varsham (2004), Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana (2005) and Dookudu (2011). His first Tamil film was Naalai Namadhe (1975). On television he played Kameshwara Shastri in Zee Telugu’s Gangato Rambabu.

Awards

• Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu: Padaharella Vayasu (1978)
• Nandi Award for Best Male Comedian: Chandamama Raave (1987)
• Nandi Award for Best Character Actor: Athanokkade (2005)

Death

He died at Apollo Hospital in Hyderabad on 11 November 2023, after a long illness. Reports of his age differed: The Hindu said 82 and The Times of India 80.

Sources: The Hindu obituary (11 November 2023); The Times of India; the Wikipedia article; Wikidata.