If there is anyone by whose snapshot we burst into laughter, it is undoubtedly Brahmanandam. Even an expressionless pic of Brahmi can tickle our funny bone and strain our cheeks- That is Brahmanandam! If someone wakes you up in the middle of a night and orders you to list a few comedians, the first name would apparently be Brahmanandam. With a phenomenal career spanning over 26yrs and about a whopping 1000 films and innumerable memorable characters to his credit, even Guinness Book of World Records couldn’t desist from bowing to this impeccable actor and unmatchable comedian.
Our Telugu cinema gilds a unique tradition of comedians turning heroes. So far many comedians tested their trump card as heroes, touched wood and later settled down as comedians [except for one or two]. Likewise, Brahmanandam also had his share of luck tested in 1987with Babai Hotel, his first film ever as a hero directed by the Comedy Guru (late) Jandhyala. This movie was in fact a commercial disappointer, despite of having all the big names to its credit and has got him nowhere as a hero. Then Brahmi was back into action as a comedian and exactly a decade later in 1997, he had a second bite at the cherry with Super Heroes, again a comedy film starring AVS (yet another star comedian) alongside. He could not strike it lucky even with this. Years passed by and today Brahmi is sitting pretty, bagging almost an equal amount of whistles and howls that go for a star hero. After a long while, ‘Padmashree’ Brahmandam is back as a hero (protagonist) with his recent release Jaffa (a word coined by him) which almost bombed at the box-office. Jaffa that released amidst high expectations remained a dud in spite of having Brahmi in the leads. With the major proportion of the film having reportedly shot in his own residence, Jaffa has been of special interest to Brahmanandam [He has apparently lost many big offers for this film]. But, tough luck Brahmi, Jaffa was in fact a ‘jaffa’ attempt from your side, according to fans.
Somehow, we love him to see him as a comedian, perhaps preferably comedian! He would only fall from grace with ‘jaffa’ and ‘kufli’ choices if he wishes to try as a hero - a different cup of tea altogether!
