When I Faced Lathis And Slapped On The Face For My Hero The One & Only Superstar Krishna
By Satya Pamula
Krishna was always my favorite hero after NTR. When NTR entered politics in 1982, Krishna became my all-time favorite hero in movies. Kittigadu (as we fans fondly used to call him) had a mass following and the hysteria his movies used to create in those times were unparalleled and can only be compared to NTR which was a rare feat in itself.
I still remember buying JyothiChitra film magazine when they first ran the superstar campaign in 1982. The first superstar was NTR then when he entered politics Krishna was the Super Star in the succeeding years and made this his surname.
I was fond of drawing since childhood and use to draw a lot of film posters of NTR and Krishna in those days. The main reason is I can get tickets without standing in the hysterical kilometers-long queues for their movies on the first day! Theatre management was kind enough to extend tickets for fans who get pictures of the movie to their theatres which used to adorn the glass cupboard in the theater's main hall for the period the movie used to run. These pictures were a rage among fans and moviegoers and were often talked about and praised.
When the movie SHAKTHI was released on 2 September 1983, I drew a poster of Superstar Krishna and went to my nearest theatre Tirumala 70 mm at Chaderghat in Hyderabad to get the first-day first show tickets. It was a superstar movie in a double role and the glamourous Radha was one of the heroines, directed by the commercial dictionary of Indian films K Raghavendra Rao!! You can imagine the fans' frenzy. When I reached close to the theatre the crowds have already occupied the roads up to half a kilometer. I managed to reach the theater's gates with a lot of persuasion and me showing my drawing. When I reached the gates police opened lathicharge to discipline the surging crowds. A few blows landed on my back! I braved the blows and managed to put my drawing of Super Star Krishna in the cupboard which was an achievement in itself!
Then the unimagined happened. Crowds in their eagerness to see the posters and drawings rushed to the cupboards and some fell on them and they broke. The Tirumala theatre staff held me by my collar & neck and threw me into the manager's room. What followed were a few tight slaps that landed on my face and a fatherly lecture by the manager. He advised me that as a good student I should watch the movie when they are less crowds and I should protect my family's reputation and study well. I nodded to everything he said and said sorry at least 50 times in the hope he will give me that one ticket of Rs 2 to watch my favourite star's movie. Kindhearted he was, the manager gave me the ticket, and once I entered the hall and saw Super Star Krishna in the first scene amidst the earth-shattering noise of claps and whistles, I forgot everything that happened to me!
That’s a Superstar's Magic! A true kind of a 'Mass Hero' who was so grateful to his producers and his fans! There are legions of stories about how he helped his fans. 'MASS MANIA' will not be the same without NTR and Krishna in movies, while others just pale before these two towering legends!!
It is still fresh in my mind and I remember the enjoyment I got watching your Alluri Seeta Rama Raju ( Sudershan 70 ) Agent Gopi ( Kamal talkies ) Ooriki Monagadu ( Venkatesa 70 mm) Agni Parvatham ( Sudershan ) Eenadu ( Sandhya) Cheekati Velugulu ( Venkatesa) Athani Kante Ghanudu ( Basant talkies) Maha Sangramam ( Shanti 70 mm) …and many more …….
Thank you Superstar Krishna for entertaining us for decades!
Also Read: Hyderabad: Super Star Krishna To Be Cremated With State Honours
