Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao, popularly known as NTR, was an Indian actor, filmmaker and politician who served as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh for seven years over three terms. He starred in over 300 films, predominantly in Telugu cinema, and was referred to as Viswa Vikhyatha Nata Sarwa Bhouma. Rao received three National Film Awards for co-producing Thodu Dongalu (1954) and Seetharama Kalyanam (1960) under National Art Theater, Madras, and for directing Varakatnam (1970). He has received the erstwhile Rashtrapati Awards for his performance in the Raju Peda (1954) and the Lava Kusa (1963). He garnered the Nandi Award for Best Actor for Kodalu Diddina Kapuram in 1970, and the Inaugural Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu in 1972 for Badi Panthulu.
Akkineni Nageswara Rao, widely known as ANR, was an Indian actor and producer, known for his work predominantly in Telugu cinema. He starred in many landmark films in his seventy five-year career, becoming one of the most prominent figures in the history of Indian cinema. He is considered as one of the two pillars of Telugu Cinema along with N. T. Rama Rao. Nageswara Rao received seven state Nandi Awards, and five Filmfare Awards South. He is a recipient of the Dada Saheb Phalke Award, the highest Indian award in the field of cinema. He was also honoured with the Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian award, for his contribution to the film industry.
Bellary, officially Ballari, in the eponymous Bellary district, is a city in the state of Karnataka, India. It is 306 km (190 mi) from the state capital of Bangalore and 351 km (218 mi) from Hyderabad. It has 5 taluks and 104 villages.
Akkineni Laxmi Vara Prasada Rao, known popularly and professionally as L. V. Prasad, was an Indian film producer, actor, director, cinematographer and businessman. He was one of the pioneers of Indian cinema and is the recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest Award for films in India. In 1980, he was awarded the Raghupathi Venkaiah Award, for his contribution to Telugu cinema. He founded Prasads Group in 1956, which include the Prasad Art Pictures, Prasad Studios, Prasad's IMAX and L. V. Prasad Eye Institute. L. V. Prasad was the chairman of the 27th National Film Awards Selection Committee held at New Delhi in 1980.
Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao Jr., also known as Jr NTR or Tarak, is an Indian actor, singer, and television presenter who works in Telugu cinema. In his film career spanning 20 years, he has worked in over 30 films. Popularly referred as Young Tiger of Tollywood, Rama Rao has received two state Nandi Awards, two Filmfare Awards South and four CineMAA Awards. One of the highest paid Telugu film actors, he was ranked 28th in Forbes India Celebrity 100 list in 2018.
Telugu theatre is an Indian theatre in the Telugu language, based in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Gurajada Apparao wrote the play, Kanyasulkam in 1892, which is often considered the greatest play in the Telugu language. C. Pullaiah is cited as the father of Telugu theatre movement.
Mahamahopadhyaya Dr. Nookala Chinna Satyanarayana was a Carnatic musician, a classical vocalist, musicologist, author and teacher, a great administrator and motivator. He was a performer on All India Radio and Doordarshan who participated in Sangeeta Sammelans, outdoor broadcasts and national programmes innumerable times. His radio lessons and Bhakti Ranjanis were very popular. He was awarded Padma Bhushan award by the Government of India in 2010.
Bhakta Prahlada is a 1932 Indian Telugu-language Hindu mythological film directed by H. M. Reddy and produced by Ardeshir Irani of Imperial Film Company. It features Sindhoori Krishna Rao as the titular Prahlada, along with Munipalle Subbiah, Surabhi Kamalabai, Doraswamy Naidu, Chitrapu Narasimha Rao, and L. V. Prasad. No complete synopsis of the film that is known to survive, but it is an adaptation of a play of the same name.
Kota Srinivasa Rao is an Indian actor and comedian, known for his work primarily in Telugu cinema and Telugu theatre. He has also starred in a few films in Tamil, Hindi, Kannada and Malayalam. As a former politician, Rao has served as the MLA from Vijayawada East in Andhra Pradesh, India from 1999 to 2004.He made his debut with the Telugu film Pranam Khareedu in 1978. He starred in 750 feature films. He has received nine state Nandi Awards as best character, villain and supporting actor. In 2012, he has garnered the SIIMA Award for his work in Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum. In 2015, he received India's fourth highest civilian honour Padma Shri for his contribution to Indian cinema.
Kodi Ramakrishna was an Indian film director and writer known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema, and a few Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi films. One of the prolific film directors in Telugu, Kodi Ramakrishna has directed a wide range of films, in a variety of genres such as drama films; Intlo Ramayya Veedilo Krishnayya (1982), Mangamma Gari Manavadu (1984), Thalambralu (1986), Aahuthi (1987), Bharatamlo Bala Chandrudu (1988), Station Master (1988), Muddula Mavayya (1989), Maa Aavida Collector (1996), Pelli (1997), and Dongaata (1997).
Pammal Vijayarangam Sambandham Mudaliar (1873–1964), who has been described as "the founding father of modern Tamil theatre", was a playwright, director, producer and actor of the late nineteenth- and early twentieth centuries. He was a recipient of the civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan.
Gollapudi Maruti Rao was an Indian actor, screenwriter, dramatist, playwright, columnist and dialogue writer known for his works in Telugu cinema, Telugu theatre and Telugu Literature. Rao acted in over 250 Telugu films in a variety of roles. His noted literary works and plays, like Rendu Rellu Aaru, Patita, Karuninchani Devatalu, Mahanatudu, Kaalam Venakku Tirigindi, Aasayaalaku Sankellu, won numerous State Awards.
Chilakalapudi Seeta Rama Anjaneyulu, popularly known as C. S. R., was an Indian method actor, and thespian best known for his works in Telugu cinema, and Telugu theater. He acted in many stage dramas and portrayed lead characters and mythological roles in over 175 movies. He was one of the lead actors of his time. Anjaneyulu was an established lead actor by the late 1930s, preceding the entrance of actors such as NTR and ANR. His performance in the super-hit Bhaktha Ramadasu in 1937 won him many accolades. In the 1950s, starting with Pathala Bhairavi screened at the first International Film Festival of India, he began acting in character roles. In Pathala Bhairavi, he plays a king worried about his daughter, a princess kidnapped by a wicked magician played by Ranga Rao.
Vinjamuri Venkata Lakshmi Narasimha Rao was an Indian stage actor, Telugu-Sanskrit pandit and author.
Dharmavaram Ramakrishnamacharyulu was a Telugu dramatist and playwright from Bellary. He was known as "Andhra Nataka Pithamaha" and wrote more than 30 original plays.
Bellary Raghava was an Indian playwright, thespian and film actor, known for his works predominantly in Telugu theatre and cinema. His uncle Dharmavaram Ramakrishnamacharyulu was a pioneering dramatist in Telugu, and initiated him on the stage. Raghava was also associated with another dramatist from Bellary, Kolachalam Srinivasa Rao. His students include female artists like Sarojini Kopparapu, Padmavati Kommuri, Annapurna Kakinada, and male artists like Vasudevarao K.S., Apparao Basavaraju and Banda Kanakalingeshwara Rao.
Ramakrishna, also known as Neernalli Ramakrishna, is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Kannada cinema, and known for his portrayal of character roles as a lead actor. He was born into the Havyaka Brahmin community in Neernalli, near Sirsi, in the erstwhile North Canara region of Karnataka State. In his career spanning over 30 years, he has appeared in over 200 films, mostly Kannada and a handful in Tamil and Telugu cinema; he appeared in a lead role in K. Balachander's Poikkal Kudhirai (1983). A protégé of the renowned filmmaker Puttanna Kanagal, he featured in some of the latter's best works such as Ranganayaki (1981), Maanasa Sarovara and Amrutha Ghalige (1984). Since the 1990s, he has appeared mostly in supporting roles.
Rattihalli Nagendra Rao was an Indian theatre actor, film actor and director in South Indian cinema. Following his career in theatre, Rao turned to film a where he became an actor, director, producer, screenwriter and occasional composer. He is considered one of the most influential personalities in the history of South Indian cinema.
Doondeswara Rao Pothina, more popularly known as Doondi, was an Indian film producer. He was described as one of the pioneer film personalities of the 1960s Telugu film industry. Doondi produced and directed about 29 films in Telugu, Kannada, and Hindi. In 2005, he also served as the Nandi Awards Committee Chairman.
Kolachalam Venkata Rao was a freedom fighter and social reformer of Madras Presidency. He represented the state of Karnataka in the first session of the Indian National Congress. He was one of the early social reformers who encouraged widow remarriages and female education. He was the elder brother of Kolachalam Srinivasa Rao.
