| Kasturi Siva Rao | |
| Birth Date: | 6 March 1913 |
| Birth Place: | Kakinada, British India (now in Andhra Pradesh, India) |
| Nationality: | Indian |
| Death Place: | Tenali, Andhra Pradesh |
| Spouse: | Shakuntala Kasturi |
| Children: | Three Sons and Four Daughters |
| Father: | Kasturi Krishnanandam |
| Mother: | Kasturi Ramamma |
Kasturi Siva Rao (6 March 1913 - 24 February 1966) was an Indian actor, comedian, playback singer, producer and director known for his works in Telugu cinema. He was one of the first star comedians of Telugu cinema.[1] [2] [3]
Kasturi Siva Rao started his career in the film industry as a movie narrator for the silent films produced at that time. Besides providing commentary, he was also a projector operator and had a unique humor to his fame. Theaters would advertise films as having "commentary by Siva Rao".[2] [3] He became an actor with the film Vara Vikrayam in 1939 and shot into the limelight with Chudamani in 1941. B N Reddy's Swarga Seema in 1945 and Balaraju in 1948 catapulted him to stardom.[4]
He became a lead actor with the film Gunasundari Katha in 1949, in which he played the role of a cursed prince. The film became a huge hit and his mannerisms and dialogue were so popular that people started conversing in the same tone. He owned a Buick, which was a rare possession, and whenever people saw the car on roads they used to swarm the car and run along with it. Kasturi Siva Rao later on became a producer and director with the film Paramanandayya Sishyulu in the year 1950.[4]