Adivi Baapiraju

Baapiraju was born on 8 October 1895, at Sarepalle, near Bhimavaram in West Godavari district of Andhra. He obtained primary education in Bhimavaram and higher education at Narsapur and Rajamahendravaram.[1] He visited tourist places around the country like Ajanta, Hampi etc. and that is how his interest in arts and paintings developed. Inspired by the likes of Bipin Chandra Pal, Baapiraju participated in the Non-cooperation movement in 1921 and was jailed from 1922 for about a year.[4] He remembered his experiences in jail in his book "tolakari".[2] After his release Baapiraju attended the Law college in Madras. He practiced law in Bhimavaram for anyear and then he later gave it up.[1]

Adivi Baapiraju Statue at RK Beach Road, Visakhapatnam

Baapiraju served as the principal of Jateeya Kalasala of Machilipatnam for a brief period. In 1934 he gave up the job of principal to enter the Telugu film industry as an art director.[1] He directed Dhruva Vijayam, Meerabhai, and Anasuya. Baapiraju edited the Telugu daily Mijan, published from Hyderabad from 1943 to 1946. Baapiraju wrote over a hundred stories. He also provided paintings for Viswanatha Satyanarayana's Kinerasani Patalu and Nanduri's Enkipatalu.[1] Baapiraju died in 1952.[1]