Kongara Jaggayya was an Indian actor, littérateur, journalist, lyricist, dubbing artist and politician known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema and Telugu theatre. He was known as Kanchu Kantam Jaggayya (Telugu) for his booming voice. In a film career spanning forty years as a matinee idol, he starred in eighty films, as a lead actor, and lead antagonist in a variety of genres. In 1967, he was elected as a member of the fourth Lok Sabha, from the constituency of Ongole, becoming the first Indian film actor to be elected as a member of the Parliament.
Manchu Bhakthavatsalam Naidu, credited and also known as Mohan Babu, is an Indian actor and film producer known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema. An alumnus of the Madras Film Institute, Mohan Babu has acted in more than 500 films in lead, supporting and a variety of roles.
Tadinada Varaprasad popularly known as Nutan Prasad was an Indian actor who worked predominantly in Telugu cinema and Telugu theatre. He was a native of Kaikaluru, Andhra Pradesh, India. He started his film acting career in the early 1970s, and has received four state Nandi Awards. He died due to prolonged illness at the age of 65.
Maganti Murali Mohan is an Indian actor, producer, politician, and business executive from Telugu cinema. In 1973, Murali Mohan debuted in Jagame Maya, produced by Atluri Poornachandra Rao. He gained recognition with the 1974 film Tirupati, directed by Dasari Narayana Rao. He has acted in over 350 feature films. He has served in various positions in the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) and the Andhra Pradesh Film Development Corporation. He was the Honorary President of the Telugu Movie Artists Association until the elections in 2015.
Tadepalli Lakshmi Kantha Rao was an Indian actor and producer known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema. Regarded as one of the finest method actors, Rao appeared in more than 400 feature films, starring in many, in a variety of genres including mythological, social and folklore. After a success string in folklore and swashbuckling films, he became popularly referred to as Kattula Kantha Rao. He has also acted in a few Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, and Malayalam movies. He has produced about five films under the Hyma Films banner.
Thadiparthi Saraswati Devi, better known by her stage name Sarada is an Indian actress and politician. Known for her work predominantly in Telugu films and Malayalam films, Sarada is the recipient of three National Awards. She has also appeared in few Tamil, Hindi as well as Kannada language films. She is also known as Urvasi Sarada – National Film Award for Best Actress was officially designated the Urvasi Award. She won three National Awards for her roles in Thulabharam (1968), Swayamvaram (1972), and Nimajjanam (1977). Sarada won the NTR National Award by the Government of Andhra Pradesh for her contributions to Indian cinema.
Kota Srinivasa Rao is an Indian character actor 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 over 750 feature films. He has received nine state Nandi Awards in various categories of villain, character actor, 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.
Manchu Vishnu Vardhan Babu is an Indian actor and film producer known for his works in Telugu cinema and television. Manchu had a brief stint as a child artist with the 1985 film Ragile Gundelu. Years later, he starred in the 2003 Telugu action film Vishnu, for which he won the Filmfare Best Male Debut. He is currently serving as the president of the Movie Artists Association since 2021.
Chandra Mohan was an Indian actor known for his works predominantly in Telugu films. He won a Filmfare Award South and two Nandi Awards.
Manchu Manoj Kumar is an Indian actor who works in Telugu films. He first appeared at the age of ten as a child artist in Major Chandrakanth. He made his film debut in a leading role with Donga Dongadi in 2004. He received the state Nandi Special Jury Award for his performance in box-office success Bindaas (2010). He also starred in Vedam (2010), Potugadu (2013), and Pandavulu Pandavulu Thummeda (2014).
Punyamurthula Appalaraju, better known by his stage name Raja Babu, was an Indian actor and comedian known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema. He is noted as one of the finest Telugu comedians. A 9 ft bronze statue of Rajababu was unveiled in his birthplace of Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh in 2012.
Rama Prabha is an Indian actress who performs in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi films. She has acted in more than 1,400 films and is credited as a character artist who shared screen space with superstars across most generations of South Indian Cinema with a career spanning over six decades. She formed a noted pair on Telugu screen during the 1970s and 1980s with comedian Raja Babu. She acted opposite Nagesh in Shanti Nilayam and many other films from 1968 onwards. She acted in Hindi opposite Mehmood in the movie Do Phool.
Gollapudi Maruti Rao was an Indian actor, writer and director known for his works in Telugu cinema, Telugu theatre, and Telugu literature. Maruti 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.
C. Nagabushanam was an Indian actor known for his works in Telugu cinema and Telugu theatre. He acted in more than 350 films from the 1950s to the 1980s. He primarily acted in villain and character actor roles. Nagabushanam was a trendsetter in enacting comic villain characters. He was also known by the title “Natabhooshana”.
Pally Babu Mohan commonly known as Babu Mohan is an Indian actor and politician formerly from the Bharatiya Janata Party. He prominently works in Telugu films as a comedian and is a former Minister for Labour in Andhra Pradesh. He won Nandi Award for Best Male Comedian for his role in Mamagaru.
Alludugaru or Alludu Garu is a 1990 Indian Telugu-language drama film directed by K. Raghavendra Rao and produced by Mohan Babu under Lakshmi Prasanna Films. This film stars Mohan Babu and Shobhana in lead roles, while Ramya Krishna also appeared in an important supporting role. It was commercially and critically successful running for more than 100 days. The music of the movie was composed by K. V. Mahadevan.
Mikkilineni Radhakrishna Murthy was an Indian actor and thespian known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema. He was the founder of the theater group Praja Natya Mandali. He has received the honorary Kalaprapoorna from Andhra University, for his contributions towards Telugu theater and cinema.
Hema Sunder is an Indian actor known for his works in Telugu cinema, and a few in Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi, and Bhojpuri. He starred in over 300 feature films. He made his debut with the 1972 film Vichithra Bandham.
The Movie Artists Association (MAA) is a trade union that represents over 900 principal and background performers working in Telugu cinema. It was started on 4 October 1993 by Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Krishnam Raju, Krishna, Murali Mohan, Mohan Babu, and other senior artists. Chiranjeevi was the maiden president of the MAA.
Kannappa is an upcoming Indian Telugu-language mythological film directed by Mukesh Kumar Singh and produced by Mohan Babu. It is based on the legend of Kannappa, a devotee of Hindu god Shiva. The film stars Vishnu Manchu in the titular role. Mohan Babu, R. Sarathkumar, Arpit Ranka, Kaushal Manda, Rahul Madhav, Devaraj, Mukesh Rishi, Brahmanandam, Raghu Babu, Preity Mukhundhan and Madhoo play supporting roles, alongside Mohanlal, Prabhas, Akshay Kumar and Kajal Aggarwal in cameo appearances.
