J. V. Somayajulu

Jonnalagadda Venkata "J. V." Somayajulu (30 June 1928 – 24 April 2004) was an Indian film actor known for his works in Telugu cinema and a few Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi films. In 1980, he received the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu for his work in the classic Sankarabharanam. On the centenary of Indian cinema, Forbes included his performance in the film among the 25 Greatest Acting Performances of Indian Cinema. He also acted in the most admired Hindi film Jaag Utha Insan with Mithun Chakraborty and Sridevi, directed by K. Vishwanath.

Some of the other films that earned Somayajulu a good reputation as an actor were Allari Pillalu, Nelavanka, Rowdy Alludu, Swatimutyam, Tyagayya, Saptapadi, Vijeta, Appula Appa Rao and Vamsa Vruksham. He portrayed the guru character of Sri Raghavendra (played by Rajinikanth) in the Tamil movie Sri Raghavendrar. He made a 13-episode television serial based on the play Kanyasulkam. He also portrayed A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, in the biographical series Abhay Charan.

For the development of Telugu theatre in the twin cities Hyderabad and Secunderabad, Somayajulu established 'Rasaranjani' along with his contemporaries, Chatla Sriramulu, Garimella Rama Murthy and Rallapalli. Somayajulu worked in the Directorate of Cultural Affairs before retiring from government service. He died of heart attack at Hyderabad in 2004 at the age of 76.

Personal life
He was a government official and worked as a Deputy collector for a long time. He hailed from the village of Lukalam Agraharam near Kameswaripeta, Urlam in Srikakulam district. His father worked as an Inspector in the Prohibition & Excise department in Gudivada and other towns. He spent his childhood in Vizianagaram and also participated in stage dramas when he was in Vizianagaram.

His career spanned five decades in stage dramas, films and television. His passion for Gurazada Apparao's play, Kanyasulkam, was such that he, along with his actor brother J V Ramana Murthy, played it about 500 times in 45 years. His exposition of the delightfully notorious character, "Ramappanthulu" in the play, has become legendary. The woman behind the success of Somayajulu was his mother Saradamma. He died of illness at Hyderabad in 2004 at the age of 75. He is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter.