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Choosing words carefully, thinking before speaking has been a habit with him. I would often find him carrying a dictionary on the sets

Ladies man Actor Shoban Babu in his hey days acted with all the leading ladies of Telugu cinema, Radhika, Sarada,Vanisri, Sridevi and Vijayashanti.

Sharp features, misty-eyed looks, a firm voice and strands of hair that twirled on his forehead made Shoban Babu a favourite with the ladies. A rare personality who set principles, standards for himself and controlled it till he breathed his last, he set an example for everyone around him. His co-stars Sarada, Vanisri and Radhika who’ve worked in innumerable films share some aspects of the actor’s personality.

Sarada’s first film with the actor was Manushulu Marali and the last Evandi Aavidotchindi. Her phones have been constantly ringing for the past few days and people have been calling and offering condolences. She adds, “I didn’t understand why they were calling me, speaking in a slow soft tone… as if I am his life partner. Later my folks told me that the roles we played were so intense, the chemistry was so believable and they might have empathised with me. I haven’t been in touch with him for a decade and he was always very professional on the sets. He lived like a king and left like a king. His daughter wasn’t able to conceive and it did bother the family, but now after 20 years she is expecting a baby. So even that dream has been fulfilled. Aasalu untaayi andariki avi teeredhi kondhariki… that holds good for him.”

Shoban Babu often felt restless in the company of complicated people. When he had time on the sets, he would either keep to himself, read or pull out his accounts book from his brief case and work on them. He would drive his own car, never would visit temples but had an idol of Buddha at home. He also chose his friends carefully and K.V. Chalam and Chandramohan were perhaps the only film personalities with whom he shared a healthy relationship. He would speak to a co-star for hours but you could never call the person Shoban Babu’s friend.

Vanisri recollects her association, “He was most comfortable amidst bricks and cement and loved the smell and today he’s built a foundation for his family, workers and beneficiaries. His daughter told me that he has ensured that all of them would get around Rs. five lakhs every month. Even when he was working he would tell my mother that the day he’d make his children’s life secure, he would quit the industry.”

The actor was a light eater and always paid attention to his health, would shun production food and eat non-veg only on certain occasions like when he had guests at home . He often believed that the body should be worshipped… feet should be warm (to be active) and head should be cool (to avoid temper) and the stomach half empty (to be active). His discipline extended to his relationships as well. Vanisri says, “He would advise me to write short notes on a paper before calling someone on the phone. Choosing words carefully, thinking before speaking has been a habit with him. I would often find him carrying a dictionary on the sets. He was a voracious reader and would speak good English.”

Radhika doesn’t have the heart to delete his name from her cellphone. Every night it had become a ritual for Shoban Babu to watch Radhika’s serial Arasi. He was impressed with the way she handled her business and often complimented her. She says, “I wanted him to act in a remake of a Tamil film and he refused. I respect his decision. A week before he left, I had spoken to him as a shooting was due near his house. I told him I would come but couldn’t make it that day as I had a small accident. I really miss him.”

“I asked him once why people called him a pisinigottu (miser) and he immediately fished out a book which had accounts of number of scholarships he gave to poor students, the list of people to whom he sends money every month. There are many families who depend on him,” says Vanisri. Industry journalists say that Shoban Babu never clamoured for publicity, avoided scribes and asked for questionnaires when pressed for interviews and also worked without remuneration sometimes. He never took anything that came free and never owed anyone a single penny. All the above actresses had one common thing to say: “The actor did miss having friends in the past few years, none to share jokes or exchange views. But his was a life well planned and lived to the fullest.”

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