Kolachalam Srinivasa Rao was a Telugu scholar. Born in 1854 he was regarded as a trendsetter for his contributions to dramatic literature, performance, and criticism. Belonging to the illustrious family of Mallinatha Suri, the Sanskrit language commentator, Rao became a lawyer in Bellary district, in the Indian state of Karnataka. Soon Kolachalam Srinivasa Rao became an ardent devotee of theatre. His Sumanorama Sabha in 1905 in Bellary, competing with Dharmavaram Ramakrishnamacharyulu`s Sarasa Vinodini Sabha, specialized in performing historical drama. For his contribution to this genre, he gained the title Andhra charitraka nataka pitamahudu i.e. "grandfather of Andhra historical drama". He was also the first in Andhra to build a theatre named Vani Vilas. This was exclusively for producing his own plays; Bal Gangadhar Tilak inaugurated it.
Kolachalam Srinivasa Rao started his career as dramatist with Sunandini parnayamu i.e. `Sunandini`s wedding` in 1892-3. This is an original play showing that destiny rules man`s intellect. His next, Sukhamanjari parinayamu or "Sukhamanjari`s Wedding" in 1895 was the first Telugu historical drama, dealing indirectly with the story of Rani Sanyukta and Prithviraj Chauhan. He wrote seven other historical plays. The names can be mentioned as Sultana Chandbibi, Ramaraju cbaritramu or `Story of the Golden Age`, Siladitya, Mysore mjyabhivrudhi i.e. "Mysore`s Progress". All were written during the time period of 1898-1907. Pratapagbariyamu i.e. "About Pratap and Akbar" in 1908, Chandragiri abhyudayamu or "Chandragiri`s Prosperity", and Kalidas were very famous. Ramaraju charitramu or The Fall of Vijayanagar in 1907 earned great repute because of Rao`s dexterous plot development and characterization and the memorable acting of Bellary Raghava in the role of the Pathan. In addition, Kolachalam Srinivasa Rao composed five plays based on the Ramayana, five on the Mahabharata, and six other mythological plays. He was the first to translate drama directly from Marathi drama and theatre. The names can be mentioned as Khadilkar`s Manapaman i.e. "Honour and Dishonour" and Wamanrao Joshi`s Rakshasi mahatwakanksha or "Demonic Ambition". His works include two farces in Telugu. These are Nautch Party and Ananya Dharmapuri mahima i.e. "Dharmapuri`s Unequalled Glory` in 1915. Another one in Kannada namely Acharammana prahasana or "Acharamma`s Farce" in 1912-14. His themes were so diverse that any incident of dramatic value in terms of character conflict attracted his keen attention.
Kolachalam Srinivasa Rao authored several articles on the Vedas, the Bhagavad Gita, Yoga literature, Bhasa, Kalidasa, and Telugu theatre. Kolachalam Srinivasa Rao believed that literature in general and drama in particular should uphold India`s age-old cultural values. Kolachalam Srinivasa Rao was perhaps the first Indian to write a book on world theatre in English. The name of the book was "A History of World Drama" published in 1907. Kolachalam Srinivasa Rao died in 1919.
