Bhagavatula Mohana Rao

Bhagavatula Mohana Rao

Sri Bhagavatula Mohana Rao, born in the Bhagavatula family, took to dance like a fish takes to water. He started as a child artist who went on to excel in stree veshams (female impersonation) in Yakshaganams and has the honour of performing solo performances all over the country.

Sri Mohana Rao learnt the nuances of the dance form from his illustrious Gurus, Sri Vedantam Parvateesam, Sri Chinta Seetha Ramanjaneyulu, Sri Bhagavatula Vissayya and Padma Bhushan Dr. Vempati Chinna Satyam. He honed his Music skills under the tutelage of Sri Yeleswarapu Seeta Ramanjaneyulu and Sri P V G Krishna Sarma.

He is noted for his performance in the child characters in the following Yakshaganams

• Lohita (Harischandra)
• Prahlada (Bhakta Prahlada)

Female impersonation the touch stone of Yakshaganam, Sri Mohana Rao’s role as Matanga Kanya in Harischandra, Gopika in Gopika Krishna and Sakhi in Usha Parinayam speaks of his verstality. Some of the other notable characters performed by him include Devendra in Ksheera Sagara Madhanam, Sage Viswamitra in Sakuntalam among others.

He has the rare honor of having performed in the presence of Jawaharlal Nehru. He has toured all over the country with Venkatrama Natya Mandali, Guru Sri Chinta Krishnamurthy.

He has been conferred with the title ‘NATYA BHUSHANA’ and ‘NATYA RATNA’.

Among the various organizations that have felicitated Sri Mohana Rao, most notable include Potti Sree Ramulu Telugu University, Viswa Bharati (Gudivada), Kuchipudi Natya Mahotsav (Kuchipudi), etc.

He founded Akhila Bharata Kuchipudi Nrutya Academi at Rajahmundry, East Godavari District, Andhra Pradesh.

Contact Address
Natyacharya Bhagavatula Mohana Rao
86-13-2, Vadrevu Nagar, Tilak Road,
RAJAHMUNDRY
East Godavari District
Andhra Pradesh – 533 103