Nerella Venu Madhav, world-renowned Mimicry artist passes away

Nerella Venu Madhav (85), the world-renowned Mimicry artist, has passed away in Hanmakonda in Telangana on June 19, 2018. He is often regarded as father of Indian Mimicry and is also hailed as the pioneer and maestro of mimicry in India. Born in Warangal in 1932, Venu Madhav began his passion – mimicry at the age of 15 in 1947. He was nominated as MLC by former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao in 1971. He rose to international fame after his enthralling performance at United Nations. He was conferred Kala Prapurna title by the Andhra University in 1978 and was awarded Padma Sri by the Central Government in 2001. He was instrumental in introduction of a course in mimicry in several institutions including the Telugu University.