Film Industry is a place where artistes and technicians throng to prove their passion for cinema. They achieve success in proportion to their passion. But there are few like Uppu Shobana Chalapathi Rao alias Shoban Babu, who rose to dizzying heights in his acting career with his looks which earned him a sobriquet of being the most Handsome Hero and known as “Andhra Andagadu” and remained a hearthrob for generations of womenfolk. Yet, he took to Superstardom as fish takes to water and rather looked at his stardom and acting career as a job. He always felt that he excelled at his job and stayed honest with his job. He took a decision to not act beyond his 60 years of age and truly quit after turning 60. He took little interest later on in whatever happened in his field of job and remained a recluse till his death in 2008.
Shoban Babu was born in China Nandigama in Krishna District in 1937. He completed his schooling from Kuntamukkula Mylavaram. Later on he went to Vijayawada for college and finished his degree. Later he went to Madras to join a Law course. He got married at the age of 21 years in 1958 and became a father at an early age.
His life took a different turn when he was chosen by Chitrapu Narayana Rao to play the role of Rama in ‘Bhakta Sabari.’ The film did not run much but Shoban as an actor was born. Initially he was preferred for supporting roles and Shoban took them as a job as he had to support his family. He acted as the husband to Savitri in “Chaduvukunna Ammayilu” and was noticed. His role as husband of Vijyanirmala in “Poola Rangadu” was important too. And his cameo as a spy in “Gudachari 116″ earned him more accolades than the hero, Krishna.
His role as Satrughna in “Lava Kusa” was important and gave him good mileage. He was lauded as Abhimanyu in “Nartanasala” and later on turned a full fledged hero with “Veerabhimanyu.” His career as the hero took full wings from the success of “Veerabhimanyu.” He was looked at as a safe hero as most of his films used to recover their costs.
Along with Krishna, Shoban was looked at as the next generation of heroes who could take up projects which did not suit, ANR and NTR. While Krishna became a darling of masses like NTR, Shoban became a hero for the family audience much like ANR. His handsome looks and different dialogue delivery made him irresistable to womenfolk. Though he was a tough competitor, he made no enemies in the industry. He maintained good relations with each and everyone in the industry and was called a “Ajatasatru.”
His pairing with Sharada was much talked about as they complimented each other. “Balipeetam” and “Sarada” were the most successful films of this pair. Again his pairing with Jayachitra was also much talked about and their film, “Soggadu” remained a sobriquet for Shoban throughout his career. He gave hits after hits and though he had good action entertainers to his credit with films like, “Kode Naagu” “Gharana Gangulu” “Mundadugu” and “Sarpayaagam.” But what remained with the audience was his role as a man sandwiched between 2 ladies. “Soggadu” “Gorintaku” “Illalu Priyuralu” “Devatha” “Sarada” “Jeevana Jyothi” “Sravana Sandhya” “Evandi Aavida Vachindi” all are testimony for that fact. He experimented with his roles too when he appeared as a black poet in “Chelleli Kaapuram” and reprised the role of Guru Dutt in “Mallepoovu” which remained always his favorite film. He was a novelists’ dream and was seen as the perfect hero for the novels like, “Jeevana Tarangaalu” “Chakravakam (Novel name Sankhuteertham)” and “Girijaa Kalyanam”.
Inspite of his stardom and inspite of his success in the film industry, Shoban had decided to stay away from the industry after reaching 60 years of age. He took that decision after he witnessed a heart breaking incident. An incident during the shoot of a film made Shoban this decision. It was film which had Kanta Rao, an yesteryear hero who was considered an equal to NTR and ANR in stardom, playing a supporting role. Kanta Rao by then had fallen away from his hero image and was having a lot of financial troubles as he failed as a producer. He was being treated as a junior artiste and was standing in a queue to collect his daily remuneration. That incident really disturbed Shoban to no end and then he took a decision of not depending on the industry for his day-to-day surivival. He then chose to invest his earnings in real estate and had adviced Murali Mohan and Sridhar to do the same.He later on worked mechanically to complete his projects and by the time he turned 60 in 1997, he wound up his career and settled in Chennai. He never gave any interview after his retirement from films and never attended any film related activity. It was said that he did not even allow his children to see any films of his even on TV. Though his son Karuna Seshu was inclined to act in films, Shoban did not allow him to pursue acting. He kept his family away from cinema field and did not encourage film related talk. Post his retirement he did not allow even his friends to visit him without prior appointment.
Shoban Babu, the reluctant star who took his career as a job and a man who stood to his ideals passed away from this mortal world in 2008 and it was the one time when the film industry really arrived on his home without a prior appointment. To sum up the words of Jayasudha, “he was the only handsome man I ever knew.” He might have passed away but he continues to keep us hooked through his handsome act through his films. His ring in his wig which came to be known as “Shoban Babu ring” still thrills us and his peeping look through his famous goggles sends feelers still. The men of his kind of rare and actors of his kind are unique. Shoban Babu is the only man of his kind.
