Quiz

Was the first south Indian actor along with Bhanumathi Ramakrishna to be awarded the Padmashri award by the Governemtn of India in 1965.

The most costliest actor - used to charge 100,000 Indian rupees for each film in 1940s.

His first daughter died of an undiagnosed illness. He then participated in long stays at Ramana Maharshi Ashram.

His maternal grandmother adopted him and took him to her native village, Gonugur, near Kuppam and later to Chittoor.

He was married to Jaya Lakshmi, but she died giving birth to a daughter a year after. He then married Girija, and she too died due to miscarriage in the eighth month.

In his honour, the Chittoor Nagayya Kalakshetram of Arts was established in Chittoor of Andhra Pradesh.

He was a method actor, and his forte was usually playing intense characters, often immersing himself in the study of the real character's traits and mannerisms.

He was "Felicitated" by a life size statue in Panagal Park, Chennai after his demise.

Nagayya also starred in about one hundred and sixty films in Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, and Hindi.

After working as a clerk in a government office, Nagayya became a journalist with Andhra Patrika.

Nagayya made significant contributions to Telugu cinema, and starred in about two hundred Telugu films.

He was an Indian actor, singer, music composer, and director known for his works in Telugu cinema, Tamil cinema, and Telugu theatre.

Nagayya was considered the best character actor in South Indian cinema during 1940s and 1950s.

He received The National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu (director) - 1964 for Ramadasu.

His prominent film roles include the 14th-century poet Pothana in Bhakta Potana (1942), 17th-century saint Tyagaraja in Thyagayya (1946), 12th-century saint Gora Kumbhar in Chakradhari (1948), and Sivaram in the social problem film Naa Illu (1953).

In 1964, Nagayya essayed the 17th-century saint Bhadrachala Ramadasu in the film Ramadasu which he had also co-written, directed and produced. The film won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu.

He took up studies with a scholarship provided by the Tirupati Devasthanam and took his degree in Chittoor.

Mahatma Gandhi and Nehru influenced him and he participated in the freedom struggle (Dandi Satyagraha) in 1930, later going on to work for some gramophone companies including Hutchins as well as attending the Gowhati Congress conclave with S. Srinivasa Iyyengar.

He received The Best Actor Award by the Andhra Film Journalists Association.

Indian film journalist Baburao Patel described Nagayya as "The Paul Muni of India".