Hemanth's article on Sobhan's 1st vardhanti day

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Hemanth is an younger brother of the Telugu popular director, Jayanth Paranji. His wife, Sadhana Paranji is a noted Bharathanatyam dancer/teacher in the New York. He is a great fan of Sobhan Babu and a regular visitor of ChimataMusic.com site.
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Women & Sobhan

He was probably the only hero whom Andhra women didn't mind being a second wife to. Grandmas, mummies, aunties, akkas, chellis, vadhinas, maradhallus, daughters & daughters-in-law found him irresistable. His attraction cut across all age groups of women. The elder ones had a mischeavious smile when they saw him on screen. The middle-aged ones wished they were younger. The married ones secretly fantasized about him in the privacy of their minds. The younger ones wanted their future husbands to be 'Sobhan Babu la". The adolescents couldn't help but get him in their dreams. Everytime he delivered a hit family drama, college-going girls of the 'cheera, lenga-voni' generation would talk non-stop about him in the campuses. If women in our society had the freedom to open fan clubs in the 70s & 80s, they would have probably beaten the men-opened fan clubs in numbers and 99.9% of those would have been for Sobhan Babu. Believe me, this is not just a figment of my imagination. I have been a witness to all the above thoughts & feelings expressed by ladies themselves.

What was it about Sobhan Babu that captured their imagination & made their eyes dreamy ? How did the conventional indian-telugu woman, who hates bigamy, make exceptions with Sobhan Babu and actually enjoy the sight of him being caught amidst two women? The answer probably is, they loved him so much that they were ready to go to any extent to be permissive with him. He was literally everything a telugu woman wanted in her life partner. He was their ideal man.

Let's dissect his mystique now. To begin with, he had a magnetic physique. An extremely good-looking face stood over a tall body which is a rare phenomenon in telugu films - then, now & may be even in future. His smile was quite mesmerizing. There was something genuine about it, nothing fake. Yesteryear actress L. Vijayalaxmi garu has said in an interview to telugucinema.com that "he was the most handsome hero".......Pardon me for describing him below the neck but he had a very sensuous torso too. I remember ladies of our university gang uninhabitedly telling us that they would like to run their hands over his chest hair !

Next, there was innocence and vulnerability in his face, something that women adore. They felt like petting him. He also exuded a lot of charm in his speech and actions. Ladies love "Vaak Chaathuryam", i.e., intelligent talk from men. When it came to mouthing romantic dialogues to a lover or wife he came across as very sincere & convincing, which invariably touched a chord in the ladies. Remember those lines in 'Narthanasala' where he tells L. Vijayalaxmi garu "tholi choopu lone manasulu kalisayi....inkaa ee dhooramendhuku devi ?" or for that matter telling Manjula in "Iddaru Iddare", " nuvvu yedisthe naaku chaala baaguntundhi", she asks him "mari navvithey ?", he replies "mathey pothundhi". There was that huskiness in his voice while delivering those dialogues which made women silently go ga ga.

Another major point was - there was something classy & sophisticated about him. He was a refreshing change from cheap, low-class characters. He always handled his lover girls in a soft & delicate way. There has been an occasional 'motu sarasam scene' but there was nothing disrespectful in them too. Women want to be respected even during romance, not just thrown around like some play toy. His bedroom duets like "Endhukante Yemi Cheppanu (Jeevana Jyoti)", and "E Maata,,,Aha Thelusu (Karthika Deepam)" were very sensitive. He scored a few more points from ladies over this issue.

A conventional telugu woman's life is always caught up in a mess. There's always this dichotomy of her convictions and tastes clashing with family & social norms. The years prior to marriage, the father is always dominating and later on it's the husband. She is never allowed to have her own personality. At times like those they found atleast some screen solace through him from movies like "Chakravaakam" & "Bali Peetham". His willingness to marry a so-called low-caste girl out of pure love in "Kaalam Maarindhi" sent women into a tizzy. In essence, he always stood up for them. That's what they loved about him.

Not only in reel life, in real life too Sobhan Babu jelled well with lady artists. We have seen how almost all his heroines tell on camera how much he meant to them. I remember that March 1976 evening after finishing the charity cricket match all the telugu stars were attending a public function. The left half of the stage was full of male artists & the right half of the stage had Sobhan Babu surrounded by lady artists ! They were all vying with each other to exchange seats & get a chance to chat with him During a January 1977 Vividh Bharathi interview, Manjula said that amongst the four top heroes, he was the one with whom she was close to & could get away calling him by his first name. She also said that the lyrics "Neevu Leni Nenu Lenu" (from Manchi Manushulu) suited their relationship aptly because she would always discuss personal problems. No wonder she was sobbing uncontrollably on camera when he died. Jayasudha too has said (during the 70s) that she would always get excited on the day she was supposed to shoot with him. Jayaprada has always confided in him. Suhasini has open said that 'he's the number one hero for ladies'. He had a very personal rapport with almost all his heroines.

Apart from good-looks, ladies also love maturity, intelligence, understanding & care from men. He had it all in him. Some of them couldn't resist & even went a step further. When questioned about his extra-intimacy with some heroines he either kept quiet or would reluctantly say 'there's no smoke without fire'.

I'm sure the ladies of that generation will never get over the fact that he's not there anymore.

Hemanth Paranji, NY
hemanth_paranji@yahoo.com