Akkineni Nageswara Rao, widely known as ANR, was an Indian actor and film producer, primarily known for his works in Telugu cinema. Over his seven decade career, he starred in numerous landmark films, becoming one of the most prominent figures in the industry. Nageswara Rao received numerous accolades, including seven state Nandi Awards, five Filmfare Awards South and a Tamil Nadu State Film Award. He was honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest recognition in Indian cinema, in 1990. Additionally, he was awarded the Padma Vibhushan (2011), Padma Bhushan (1988) and Padma Shri (1968), by the Government of India for his contributions to art and cinema.
Penmetsa Ram Gopal Varma, often referred to by his initials RGV, is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer, known for his works in Telugu cinema in addition to Hindi, Kannada language films, and television. Varma has directed films across multiple genres, including parallel cinema and docudrama noted for their gritty realism, technical finesse, and craft. Regarded as one of the pioneers of new age Indian cinema, he was featured in the BBC World series Bollywood Bosses in 2004. In 2006, Grady Hendrix of Film Comment, published by the Film at Lincoln Center cited Varma as "Bombay's Most Successful Maverick" for his works on experimental films. He is known for introducing new talents, who eventually become successful in the Indian film industry.1
Ninne Pelladata is a 1996 Indian Telugu-language romantic family drama film co-written and directed by Krishna Vamsi and produced by Nagarjuna under the Annapurna Studios banner. The film stars Nagarjuna and Tabu, with music composed by Sandeep Chowta. The film received the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu for that year and was a major success at the box office. It was also the highest grossing Telugu film at the time of released and surpassed the previous Industry Hit Pedarayudu. life time collections. It was remade in Kannada as Preethsod Thappa.
Annamayya is a 1997 Indian Telugu-language hagiographical film directed by K. Raghavendra Rao and produced by V. Doraswamy Raju under the VMC Productions banner. The film portrays the life of the 15th century composer Annamacharya, played by Nagarjuna Akkineni who features alongside an ensemble cast including Mohan Babu, Suman, Ramya Krishna, Bhanupriya, Roja, and Kasthuri. The film has score and soundtrack composed by M. M. Keeravani. Upon release, the film received positive reviews and won eight Nandi Awards, three Filmfare Awards and two National Film Awards. The film was featured in the Indian panorama mainstream section at the 29th IFFI.
Akkineni Nagarjuna Rao, known mononymously as Nagarjuna, is an Indian actor and film producer who works predominantly in Telugu, Hindi and Tamil films. One of the highest paid South Indian actor, Nagarjuna has appeared in over 90 films. He is a recipient of two National Film Awards for Ninne Pelladata (1996) and Annamayya (1997), ten state Nandi Awards and three Filmfare Awards South.
Pasupuleti Venkata Bangarraju, known professionally as Krishna Vamsi, is an Indian film director, producer and choreographer known for his work in Telugu cinema. Vamsi started his career as an assistant director to Ram Gopal Varma. He made his directorial debut with the 1995 crime film Gulabi, starring J. D. Chakravarthi. He has received three (3) National Film Awards, three Filmfare Awards South and Nine (9) Nandi Awards.
Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Telugu language, widely spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Based in Film Nagar, Hyderabad, Telugu cinema has become the largest film industry in India by box-office revenue as of 2021. Telugu films sold 23.3 crore tickets in 2022, the highest among all Indian film industries. As of 2023, Andhra Pradesh has the highest number of movie screens in India.
Sri Ramadasu is 2006 Indian Telugu-language biographical film, based on the life of musician saint Kancharla Gopanna. A reboot of V. Nagayya's 1964 film Ramadasu; the film is written and directed by K. Raghavendra Rao. Produced by Konda Krishnam Raju, the film starred Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Akkineni Nagarjuna in lead roles, while the music was composed by M. M. Keeravani. Cinematography and editing were handled by S. Gopal Reddy and Sreekar Prasad respectively.
Yarlagadda Sumanth Kumar, known mononymously as Sumanth, is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Telugu cinema. He is the eldest grandson of Telugu actor Akkineni Nageswara Rao. He is also a partner in Annapurna Studios.
Kovelamudi Raghavendra Rao is an Indian filmmaker known primarily for his work in Telugu cinema, besides a few Hindi films. Over a career spanning more than four decades, he has directed over a hundred films across various genres, including romantic comedies, fantasies, melodramas, action thrillers, biographical dramas, and romances. He has received numerous accolades, including four Nandi Awards and five Filmfare Awards South.
Annapurna Studios is an Indian film studio facility founded in 1976 by the Telugu actor Akkineni Nageswara Rao. It is located on a 22-acre (8.9 ha) site in Banjara Hills, Hyderabad. The studio provides comprehensive production and post-production services.
Amala Akkineni is an Indian actress, Bharatanatyam dancer, and activist. She has predominantly worked in Tamil films, in addition to Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam, and Kannada-language films. She was a leading actress in the Tamil film industry from 1986 to 1992 and has appeared in many blockbusters in Tamil and other languages. She has won two Filmfare Awards South, namely Best Actress – Malayalam for the 1991 film Ulladakkam and Best Supporting Actress – Telugu for the 2012 film Life Is Beautiful. Amala is the co-founder of Blue Cross of Hyderabad, a non-government organisation (NGO) in Hyderabad, India, which works towards the welfare of animals and preservation of animal rights in India.
Anjali Devi was an Indian actress, model and producer in Telugu and Tamil films. She was well known for her role as the Devi Sita in Lava Kusa as well as for the title roles in movies like Chenchu Lakshmi, Suvarna Sundari and Anarkali.
Nagapandi Ayyasamy, professionally known as Nagar Chaitanya is an actor in Telugu cinema. He has received several accolades including one Filmfare Award South and one Nandi Award for his work.
Siva is a 1989 Indian Telugu-language crime action film directed by Ram Gopal Varma and produced by Akkineni Venkat and Yarlagadda Surendra under Annapurna Studios and SS Creations. The film, which marks the directorial debut of Ram Gopal Varma, explores the concepts of student exploitation by anti-social elements and the impact of crowd psychology.
Shirdi Sai is a 2012 Indian Telugu-language biographical film, produced by A.Mahesh Reddy on AMR Sai Krupa Entertainments banner, directed by K. Raghavendra Rao. Starring Nagarjuna as the 19th-20th century spiritual guru Sai Baba of Shirdi who lived in western India, it is the cinematic depiction of some of his landmark life episodes, his teachings and his way of life. Music was composed by M. M. Keeravani. Shirdi Sai was released worldwide on 6 September 2012, and has received mixed to positive reviews while Nagarjuna received critical acclaim for his performance in the title role with most reviewers hailing this as one of his career best performances.
Bhai (transl. Brother) is a 2013 Indian Telugu-language action comedy film, produced by Nagarjuna Akkineni under Annapurna Studios and directed by Veerabhadram Chowdary in association with Reliance Entertainment. It stars Nagarjuna Akkineni and Richa Gangopadhyay, with music composed by Devi Sri Prasad.
Akhil Akkineni is an Indian-American actor based in India, who works primarily in Telugu cinema. Akhil was born in San Jose, California, United States, and was raised in Hyderabad, India. Akhil debuted as a child artist in the film Sisindri (1994), for which he won a Filmfare Special Award. He is also the captain of Telugu Warriors cricket team that competes in Celebrity Cricket League.
The five-song soundtrack album and background score of the Telugu-language crime action film Siva (1989) is composed by Ilaiyaraaja. The film, directed by Ram Gopal Varma and produced by Annapurna Studios and SS Creations, stars Nagarjuna, Amala Akkineni, Raghuvaran and J. D. Chakravarthy. Veturi Sundararama Murthy and Sirivennela Seetharama Sastry wrote lyrics for the songs, while S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, S. Janaki, K. S. Chithra, S. P. Sailaja and Mano were the singers. The soundtrack was successful and was acclaimed as one of Ilaiyaraaja's best works in Telugu cinema.
