Don’t do this to our Hasya Brahma!

Brahmanandam’s screen presence and mastery over the art of performance is no secret to Telugu cinema fans. The man, through the course of a decades-long career and thousands of films, enthralled viewers with his unique brand of comedy. But things are not the same anymore and the recent crop of films the actor has featured in might be to blame.

An actor cannot deliver his best performances in isolation. He needs to be aided by a good script and more importantly, a good director. Brahmanandam has benefited massively from working with seasoned filmmakers like Relangi, EVV Satyanarayana, Jandhyala and SV Krishna Reddy, Sreenu vaitla, Trivikram in his career prime. Producer Ram Gopal Varma and director Siva Nageswara Rao gave Brahmanandam one of his most iconic characters in Nellore Peddareddy (Money Money).

But the recent pool of directors have not been able to give memorable roles to Brahmanandam. With the notable exception of Anudeep KV, who gave one of Brahmanandam’s better comic roles in recent times with Jathiratnalu, no other director has delivered to the fans’ expectations of seeing Brahmanandam in a good role.

Bro, Kalki 2898 AD, Bheemla Nayak, Bubblegum, Keedaa Cola and Aadavallu Meeku Joharlu are recent examples of films that Brahmanandam starred in, where the actor seems to be present on screen for the sake of it, in “naam ke vaaste” roles.

But Brahmanandam’s role in Bharateeyudu 2 seems to be the last straw. The legendary comedian appeared onscreen for mere seconds and his role was a complete disappointment to everyone. And it certainly does not help that Brahmanandam personally promoted the film in both Tamil and Telugu pre-release events for such a minor, insignificant role.

That said, Brahmanandam did have some great roles in both Panchatantram and Rangamarthanda, but they did not perform well in the box-office. All said and done, there is a serious need for Brahmanandam to feature in some solidly written roles that will strike a chord with a majority of the audience. Brahmanandam is a comedic treasure and it is a shame to not see him in roles befitting his calibre.