If there is one category of actors who consistently were in top demand in the Telugu Film Industry, it is comedians. Even from the Black & White era, comedy was a cornerstone of the film which was well invested by the maker teams. The audience also responded well to the actors who carried the job of comedy on their shoulders. And so we had Relangi in one generation who acted in as many films as could be made in the golden era of the 1940s and the 1970s, followed by actors like Ramana Reddy, Padmanabhan, Raja Babu in the decades that followed. Brahmanandam who followed much later in the 80s has established himself as the Badshah of Tollywood comedy in the last few decades creating an euphoric following that resembles the icons of comedy in earlier era. But is the ground slipping fast for him before he also phases out as per how history pulled many heyday comedians out of the limelight?

At the height of his popularity, for example, Relangi drew as much remuneration as the hero and the heroine. When he appeared first on screen in the film, he got the same wolf-whistles and applause as the audiences of today give it for Brahmanandam. Relangi like many stars of his time got carried away by his popularity, produced few films, built a theatre in his home town and even tried his luck as a hero in few films. Things started to backfire and once financial worries got the better of him, he couldn’t pull it off with the same razzmatazz of earlier days. He did act in some good colour films but the magic was gone by the time “Ganga Manga” was released in 1973; it was more serious than the comic Relangi the audiences got used to seeing on screen. He died at 65 but left a lasting legacy with inimitable style and finesse that will remain a scholarly body of work for any aspiring comedian. Relangi also helped project great chemistry with other male and female actors who carved a good niche for themselves like Suryakantham, Giria, Allu Ramalingaiah etc.

Ramana Reddy came a few years later than Relangi but quickly caught on the pulse of the audience with a facet of comedy that explored the comi-villainy genre. He was not a crowd-puller, knew his limitations but demanded attention when he came on screen with his racy dialogues and comic timing. There were many occasions where his swooning more than his lines tickled your ribs. He died at age 53 but will be known as one of the best comedians who played to the strengths of his fragile body frame. Later, he trained himself in magic and gave over a hundred performances as a magician but the identity he created remained uniquely Telugu – he never acted in any other language. Ramana Reddy acted in over 200 films, perhaps bettered the record of Relangi but never got the star remuneration that Relangi commanded.

Padmanabham came much later and filled an immediate transition when comedy was emerging as a pure craft that needed more improvisation and enlargement on screen. Padmanabham gave a lasting legacy of over 400 films and earned name and fame as a star comedian whether he came for ten minutes or shared the screen as a hero’s friend or a heroine’s caretaker moving the story forward with a larger screen time. He won many awards like Relangi but also ventured into film-making as a director and as a producer losing his savings big time. But when he packed up, it was the most gracious exit where he won the respect of the leading heroes of his generation from NTR to Sobhan Babu. He oozed so much talent on screen that the concept of repeat audiences was framed first during Padmanabhan’s reign to reflect the growing contribution of Star Comedians in the box-office success. Padmanabhan died at 78 after keeping good health with a daily dosage of yoga. Who can forget the last two films where he acted with current generation – “Chakram” and “Bhadra”? In a way, the concept of the lead actors and star comedians drawing commensurate remuneration became an industry trend during Padmanabham even if the woes of financial misadventures were self-invited by himself. Padmanabhan also improvised his body language, made faces like nobody could in Indian celluloid and created voice cultures that remain a benchmark in getting uproarious laughter without losing dignity.

Raja Babu is the only other iconic comedian before Brahmanandam who needs to be remembered both for good and bad reasons. In the era that he dominated, Raja Babu acted in 589 films, picked over a dozen film fare awards as a comedian and remained the king of comedy allowing other side-kicks and side-comedians like Rama Prabha, etc. to flourish with him. The Distributors used to ask only one question: “Does the film have Raja Babu?” and then buy the film if he starred in it. Such was the ecstasy of the fans that they unveiled a 9 ft statue of the first Superstar comedian in his birthplace of Rajahmundry. But like many predecessors, Raja Babu had a mighty fallout with NTR who created an atmosphere of ostracisation towards Raja Babu gradually depleting him of all the offers that could only go his way. It was the time when Raja Babu thought himself to be indispensable to the film’s fortunes and had the audacity to lift a finger against NTR in one of the shooting sets where they last starred together. In one of the films with NTR, Raja Babu drew Rs.20,000 remuneration while NTR got Rs.35,000 as his pay. Because he was working multiple shifts in a day shuttling between one hero’s film to another, Raja Babu, as per his family’s version got so carried away that he asked the producer to pay the same remuneration as NTR got in the film. When the producer refused saying NTR is the hero of the film, Raja Babu retorted asking the producer, “Keep NTR as comedian and me as the hero then”. That proved the costliest error of his life – and he never got a second chance in a way that the world should have remembered Raja Babu because offers dwindled after that and further accelerated his downfall.

If there is any lesson here for a legendary actor like Brahmanandam, it is this: Nobody is indispensable to the fortune of a film. If the film is a hit, it has to be a combination of many factors and everybody else besides the cast pulled it off. Right now, Brahmanandam is at the same inflection point that many star comedians have gone through at late stages of their career, when they were at the peak of their form and the ride was looking like it is going to continue forever. Dr.Brahmanandam is the most iconic comedian of our generation and has played a pivotal role in the box-office success of many films that he starred. He worked with every hero and heroine of the last forty years and carried his infectious screen presence with stellar dedication, improvisation and meticulous planning . He went through some troughs in the past at a time when directors like Krishna Reddy and Jandhyala who built a solid foundation for a take-off but re-surfaced again in the last fifteen years with numerous roles that will bring back the happiest memories of where we laughed our guts out.

Currently, the scene of film production is quite different from the times when the remuneration of star comedians came within the kissing distance of superstar heroes. With over 1000 films to his credit, Brahmanandam has achieved everything he could in the genre of comedy; he should not throw it away for either roles that lack dignity and grace or get greedy to bag roles that burn holes in the film’s budgets. Both these could be the cardinal errors that can see a repeat of history of what happened to Star Comedians of previous generations when they just didn’t get enough roles for various reasons -which may not be similar in Brahmandam’s case.

If you price yourself higher at Rs.1 crore remuneration with a daily cost of shooting of Rs.6 lacs which includes food for not only self but also for the family and then watch the clock for packing up when the time shows 6 pm, then there is an indirect message to the producers that the Most Successful and Iconic Comedian of our times has become prohibitive. It is pertinent to note that comedy in Telugu films as a genre threw many talents in every generation and very visibly, despite the untimely death of many great comedians in recent times like Dharmavarapu, MSN, AVS, Kondavalasa, Kallu Chidambaram, Sutthi Duo etc., there is abundant talent to choose from the industry today thanks to plenty of TV shows which are throwing up hysterical talent who come for a song and a biryani – and not at terms that will leave very little margin to the producers.

Look at the films that released in the golden quarter this year from “Bahubali” to “Raju Gari Gadhi”. Except for “Cinema Choopistha Maava”, Brahmanandam is absent in all the hit films of the season which means a trend is shaping to prepare for his aftermath already. Therein lies the subtle message for the Master Comedian. Be reasonable and stay relevant. Care for the producer and don’t get carried away by your own fame. There is an entire bunch of energetic comedians who are in line to replace the iconic order of comedians today because they are happy to “stay hungry”.

The objective of this analysis is not to discount or disparage the magnificent talent of Brahmanandam. It is only meant to be a wake-up call for not taking ourselves to be indispensable to the film industry. Even today, if a properly-etched-out role comes Brahmanandam, hecan still surprise himself and everybody by his inimitable improvisation and powerhouse talent. Dr Brahmanandam has proved it time and again in his long career. Hope he reinvents himself yet again.