Samarla Venkata Ranga Rao, popularly known as S. V. Ranga Rao and SVR, was an Indian actor and filmmaker who primarily worked in Telugu and Tamil films. He is regarded as one of the finest actors in the history of Indian cinema. He is known by the epithet "Viswa Nata Chakravarthi" and was the earliest known character actor in South Indian cinema to achieve a star status. In a career spanning nearly three decades, Ranga Rao garnered various national and international honours.
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.
Charles Joseph Patissier, Marquis de Bussy-Castelnau or Charles Joseph Patissier de Bussy was the Governor General of the French colony of Pondicherry from 1783 to 1785. He served with distinction under Joseph François Dupleix in the East Indies, receiving the Order of Saint Louis. He contributed to the recovery from Britain of Pondicherry in 1748, and was named in 1782 to lead all French military forces beyond the Cape of Good Hope. He coordinated his operations with Pierre André de Suffren and fought against the British during the Indian campaigns of the American War of Independence.
Kaikala Satyanarayana was an Indian actor, producer, director, and politician who predominantly worked in Telugu cinema. He appeared in more than 750 films over six decades. He was a recipient of the Raghupathi Venkaiah Award in 2011, and the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017. Renowned for his acting prowess across a range of roles and genres, he was given the epithet Navarasa Natana Sarvabhouma.
Allu Ramalingaiah was an Indian character actor, comedian, and producer known for his works in Telugu cinema. In 1990, he was honoured with the Padma Shri for his contribution to Indian cinema. In 1998, he received the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award - South, and the Raghupathi Venkaiah Award in 2001. Ramalingaiah appeared in over 1000 films in a variety of roles. The "Allu Ramalingaiah National Award" was instituted in his memory by the "Allu Ramalingaiah Academy of Arts". The award is presented every year to a Telugu film personality for lifetime achievement.
Gummadi Venkateswara Rao, known mononymously by his surname Gummadi, was an Indian actor and producer, who worked predominantly in Telugu cinema and a few Tamil films. Known as one of the finest supporting/character actors in Telugu cinema, Gummadi acted in around five hundred feature films. He received critical recognition for his work in Thodu Dongalu (1954) and Mahamantri Timmarusu (1962), for which he received the erstwhile Rashtrapati Award. Gummadi was an official member of the Indian delegation from South India to the Tashkent Film Festival in 1978 and 1982.
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.
Rao Gopal Rao was an Indian actor and producer known for his works in Telugu cinema and Telugu theatre. In a film career spanning more than 25 years, Rao starred in over 400 feature films in a variety of characters. He was known for his gruesome portrayals of antagonist roles with a touch of humor. He was presented with Kala Prapoorna in 1990 by Andhra University and was honored with "Natavirat" and "Chittoor Nagayya Award" in 1987.
Dhulipala Sitarama Sastry, known mononymously by the surname Dhulipala, was an Indian actor and thespian, known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema. He was noted for playing mythological roles, particularly the role of Shakuni. He began his acting career at the young age of 13 and went on to work in about 300 films. He shot to fame with Bhishma and Sri Krishna Pandaveeyam, acting alongside N. T. Rama Rao.
Rajanala Kaleswara Rao, known mononymously by his surname as Rajanala, was an Indian actor known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema, Telugu theatre, and a few Tamil, Kannada, and Hindi films. In a film career spanning more than four decades, Rajanala acted in more than 1400 feature films in a variety of characters. Regarded as one of the finest method actors, Rajanala was known for his gruesome portrayals of lead antagonist roles during the Golden age of Telugu cinema. The Government of Andhra Pradesh and the film industry felicitated him for his achievements and contribution to Indian Film Industry. He won several Filmfare Awards South and Nandi Award.
Jamuna was an Indian actress, director, and politician who appeared mainly in Telugu cinema. She made her acting debut at age 16 in Dr. Garikapati Rajarao's Puttillu (1953), and received her breakthrough with L. V. Prasad'sMissamma (1955). Her filmography also includes Tamil, Kannada, and Hindi films. She won a Filmfare Award and an award at Filmfare Awards South. She was a member of parliament in the 9th Lok Sabha (1989–1991) representing the Rajahmundry constituency.
Basavaraju Venkata Padmanabha Rao, known mononymously as Padmanabham, was an Indian actor, comedian, producer, and director who predominantly worked in Telugu cinema and Telugu theatre. He is known for his comic expressions and dialogues. In a career spanning over six decades, he acted in more than 400 films.
Haranath was an Indian actor who worked in Telugu films.
Rallapalli Venkata Narasimha Rao, popularly known as Rallapalli, was an Indian actor known for his works primarily in Telugu films and television. He won two state Nandi Awards.
Chalapathi Rao was an Indian actor and producer known for comedy and villainous roles in Telugu cinema. He acted in different roles in more than 600 films.
Pudipeddi Jogeswara Sarma was an Indian film dubbing artist, turned actor and writer, known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema. He has worked for over 500 films as an actor and dubbing artist. He is the father of actors P. Sai Kumar, P. Ravi Shankar and Ayyappa P. Sarma.
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.
Krishnam Raju (1940–2022) was an Indian actor who acted in more than 190 films. Krishnam Raju entered Tollywood in 1966 with the film Chilaka Gorinka, directed by Kotayya Pratyagatma alongside Krishna Kumari. The film won the Nandi Award for Best Feature Film - Silver for that year. Later he acted in the mythological film Shri Krishnavataram, which also stars N. T. Rama Rao. He acted in many films with the established actors N. T. Rama Rao and Akkineni Nageswara Rao. He also acted in many films with the established actresses Krishna Kumari, Rajasulochana, Jamuna and Kanchana.
Geethanjali was an Indian actress who worked in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, and Hindi films. In a career spanning close to six decades, she featured in over 500 films across multiple languages. Her first film as a dancer is Rani Ratnaprabha in 1960. NTR introduced her to the silver screen as a heroine with his directorial debut film Sita Rama Kalyanam in 1961. She was famous for her roles in Murali Krishna (1964), Doctor Chakravarthy (1964), Illalu (1965), Sambarala Rambabu (1970), Kaalam Marindi (1972), and Abbayigaru Ammayigaru (1973). She was also a member of the Nandi Awards committee.
Ramakrishna was an Indian actor who worked in Telugu cinema. He has acted in over 200 films, including Telugu, Tamil, and Malayalam. He has acted in several super hit Telugu movies such as 'Nomu', 'Pooja', 'Nenu Naa Desam', 'Bomma Borusa', 'Badi panthulu', 'Kurukshetram', 'Yuvataram kadilindi', 'Mantralaya Sri Raghavendra Vaaibhavam', 'Hantakulostunnaru jagrattha', 'Magadu', 'Katakatala Rudraiah', 'Doralu Dongalu', 'Kotalo paga', 'Viswanatha Nayakudu'. He played various roles in several mythological films, including Yashoda Krishna, Vinayaka Vijayamu, "Sri Krishnavatharam", Devude digivasthe. He had also acted alongside thespians N. T. Ramarao and Akkineni Nageswara Rao. His contemporary Heroes were, Krishna, Haranath, and Sobhan Babu.
