Veteran actor Giribabu passed away on Saturday evening at a private hospital in Hyderabad. He made his acting debut with Jagame Maya in 1973, playing the lead role. However, before entering the industry, he went through a difficult phase that almost made him give up acting altogether. Frustrated with the way things were going, Giribabu left Chennai and decided that he would never act in films again.
The actor had initially signed Dhairye Sahase Lakshmi, but the film's shooting was stopped midway and it was never resumed. He then signed another film, Thappatadugulu, but that project was also shelved before completion. His third film was Swarganiki Nichenalu. The makers completed nearly six reels of shooting before stopping the project.
After facing disappointment with all three films, Giribabu became frustrated and decided to leave Chennai. He returned to his native village, Ravinuthala and did not want anything to do with cinema. Such was his anger that he did not even want to listen to film songs on the radio. Whenever his family members listened to songs, they would switch off the radio as soon as they saw him approaching. He also stopped going to theatres to watch films.
Giribabu had decided to take up agriculture and settle down in his village. He was married and had children by then, so he felt it was better to leave the film industry and focus on his family and farming.
However, fate had other plans. Producer Atluri Poornachandra Rao was looking to make a film with newcomers. Giribabu's friend sent his photographs to the production house, and he soon received a call offering him a role in Jagame Maya. Directed by IS Murthy, the film marked his actual entry into the industry. From then on, there was no looking back.
Even before Jagame Maya was released, Giribabu had signed nearly seven films and soon became busy as an actor. Over the course of his career, he acted in around 650 films.
Senior actor Murali Mohan also acted in Jagame Maya alongside Giribabu. The two became close friends and shared a bond like family members. Giribabu maintained warm relationships with Murali Mohan and several others in the film industry. He had spoken about this interesting journey and his early struggles in several interviews.
