His love for writing and his undying spirit for acting set him apart. Dr Tanikella Bharani, the legendary Telugu actor, has always set his standards high with his amazing performance in cinema and theatre. His love towards his work has made him what he is today.
Conferred an honorary doctorate in Literary Arts by SR University, the actor has been nothing but dedicated at his work. As we get an opportunity to speak with him during TNIE’s Hyderabad Dialogues, he certainly makes the hour-long conversation an event to remember. My great-grandfather, Divakarla Tirupati Sastry, left a legacy of literary brilliance in our family.
This heritage influenced my own journey as a writer. During my Intermediate years, a close friend, Devarakonda Narasimha Kumar, who has since passed away, motivated me to write poetry. His encouragement led to my work being published in the popular magazine Andhra Jyothi, edited by the esteemed poet Puranam Subrahmayan Sarma.
Seeing my poetry in print at the age of 23 was a thrilling moment, like winning an award. Despite facing rejections, I persisted and had a breakthrough. Under the pseudonym ‘Bhairava Meena’, I translated a Malayalam story, which was published—this success spurred me to continue writing, branching into stories and sketches.
After completing my B.Com, my mentor Rallapalli Garu (Rallapalli Narasimha Rao), a renowned writer, director, and actor in theatre, encouraged me to write plays. During the Emergency period, I wrote my first .