Biography

Allu Ramalingaiah (October 1, 1922 – July 31, 2004) was an Indian comic actor and homoeopathic physician who worked predominantly in Telugu cinema. A participant in the Indian independence movement and a seasoned stage artist, he made his feature film debut in the social drama *Puttillu* (1952). Across the 1950s and 1960s, he established himself as a versatile comedic character actor in notable productions, including the romantic comedy *Missamma* (1955), the fantasy epic *Mayabazar* (1957), the drama *Thodi Kodallu* (1957), and the comedy *Gundamma Katha* (1962). During the 1970s and 1980s, Ramalingaiah appeared in hundreds of commercial features, gaining particular prominence in character roles such as Chitragupta in the fantasy comedy *Yamagola* (1977), the classical drama *Sankarabharanam* (1980), and the social drama *Subhalekha* (1982). His later credits spanned mainstream successes, including the fantasy drama *Jagadeka Veerudu Athiloka Sundari* (1990), the action film *Gang Leader* (1991), and the Tamil romantic thriller *Kaadhalan* (1994). His final screen appearances included the action drama *Indra* (2002) and *Kalyana Ramudu* (2003). For his contributions to Indian cinema, he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 1990 and received the Raghupathi Venkaiah Award in 2001.