Nagarjuna is an Indian actor and producer who works in the Telugu cinema. He has acted in over 100 films as a lead actor as well as playing supporting and cameo roles, including Hindi and Tamil cinema. He has received nine state Nandi Awards, three Filmfare Awards South, and one Special Mention at the National Film Awards. The 1996 film Ninne Pelladata which he produced, was declared the Best Telugu film of the year at the National Film Awards.
Nagarjuna enacted the role of 15th century composer Annamacharya in the 1997 film Annamayya ; as Yavakri (the son of the ascetic Bharadwaja) in the 2002 film Agni Varsha ; as Major Padmapani Acharya in the 2003 war film, LOC Kargil ; as 17th-century composer Kancherla Gopanna in the 2006 film Sri Ramadasu ; as Sai Baba of Shirdi in the 2012 film Shirdi Sai ; and as Chandaludu (Lord Siva in disguise) in the 2013 film Jagadguru Adi Sankara . [1]
In 1989, Nagarjuna acted in the Maniratnam directed Romantic drama film, Geetanjali , which won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. In the same year, he acted in Siva , an action blockbuster directed by Ram Gopal Varma, premiered at the 13th International Film Festival of India. [2] In 1990, he subsequently made his Bollywood debut with the Hindi remake of the same film titled Shiva , and tasted success. In 1997, he received the National Film Award for producing Ninne Pelladata . In 1998, he received the National Film Award-Special Mention for his performance in the historical film Annamayya .
In 2013, Nagarjuna represented Cinema of South India at the Delhi Film Festival's 100 Years of Indian Cinema's celebration, alongside Ramesh Sippy and Vishal Bharadwaj from Bollywood. [3] In 1995, he ventured into film production, with a production unit operating in Seychelles, and was a co-director of an Emmy Award-winning film animation company in Michigan, U.S. [4] Along with his brother, Venkat Akkineni, Nagarjuna is the co-owner of the production company, Annapurna Studios and is the president of the non-profit film school Annapurna International School of Film and Media based in Hyderabad. [5] [6] [7]
† | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1986 | Vikram | Vikram | Remake of Hindi film Hero | |
Captain Nagarjun | Nagarjuna | |||
Aranyakanda | Chaitanya | |||
1987 | Majnu | Rajesh | ||
Sankeertana | Kaasi | |||
Collector Gari Abbai | Ravi | |||
Agni Putrudu | Kalidaasu | |||
Kirai Dada | Vijay | Remake of Hindi film Jaal | ||
1988 | Aakhari Poratam | Vihari | ||
Chinababu | Venu Gopal | |||
Murali Krishnudu | Murali Krishna | |||
Janaki Ramudu | Ranga (Ramu) [lower-alpha 1] | |||
1989 | Vijay | Vijay | ||
Vicky Daada | Vikram | |||
Geetanjali | Prakash | |||
Agni | Pavan Kumar | |||
Siva | Siva | |||
1990 | Prema Yuddham | Kalyan | ||
Neti Siddhartha | Siddhartha | |||
Iddaru Iddare | Ravi | |||
1991 | Nirnayam | Vamsi Krishna | ||
Chaitanya | Chaitanya | |||
Shanti Kranti | Inspector Subash | |||
Jaitra Yatra | Teja | 25th Film | ||
1992 | Killer | Eeswar Prasad (Prem Krishna) [lower-alpha 1] | ||
Antham | Raghav (Shekar) [lower-alpha 1] | |||
President Gari Pellam | Raja | |||
1993 | Rakshana | Bose | ||
Varasudu | Vinay | |||
Allari Alludu | Kalyan (Rajesh) [lower-alpha 1] | |||
1994 | Govinda Govinda | Seenu | ||
Hello Brother | Deva / Ravi Varma [lower-alpha 2] | |||
Criminal | Dr. Ajay Kumar | |||
1995 | Gharana Bullodu | Raju | ||
Sisindri | ||||
Vajram | Chakri | |||
1996 | Ramudochadu | Ram | ||
Ninne Pelladata | Seenu | |||
1997 | Annamayya | Annamacharya |
| |
1998 | Aavida Maa Aavide | Vikranth | ||
Auto Driver | Jagan | |||
Chandralekha | Raj Kapoor (Seeta Rama Rao) [lower-alpha 1] | |||
1999 | Seetharama Raju | Ramaraju | ||
Ravoyi Chandamama | Sashi | |||
2000 | Nuvvu Vastavani | Chinni Krishna | ||
Ninne Premistha | Srinivas | |||
Azad | Chandra Shekar Azad | Nandi Award for Best Feature Film - Silver | ||
2001 | Eduruleni Manishi | Surya Murthy / Satya [lower-alpha 2] | ||
Bava Nachadu | Ajay | |||
Adhipathi | Jagan | |||
Akasa Veedhilo | Chandra Sekhar (Chandu) [lower-alpha 1] | 50th Film | ||
Snehamante Idera | Aravind | |||
2002 | Santosham | Karthikeya | Nandi Award for Best Actor | |
Manmadhudu | Abhiram | |||
2003 | Sivamani | CI Sivamani | ||
2004 | Nenunnanu | Venu Madhav | ||
Mass | Ganesh (Mass) [lower-alpha 1] | |||
2005 | Super | Akhil | ||
2006 | Sri Ramadasu | Kancherla Gopanna | [8] | |
Boss - I Love You | Gopal Krishna | |||
2007 | Don | Suri | ||
2008 | King | Raja Chandra Pratap Varma aka King (Bottu Seenu, Sarath) [lower-alpha 1] | ||
Krishnarjuna | ||||
2010 | Kedi | Ramesh (Rummy) [lower-alpha 1] | ||
Ragada | Satya Reddy | |||
2011 | Gaganam | Major N. Raveendra | ||
Rajanna | Rajanna | |||
2012 | Shirdi Sai | Shirdi Sai Baba | also singer for the song "Okkade Devudu" | [9] |
Damarukam | Mallikharjuna | |||
2013 | Greeku Veerudu | Chandu | ||
Jagadguru Adi Shankara | Chandaludu | |||
Bhai | Vijay | |||
2014 | Manam | Seetharamudu / Nageswara Rao "Bittu" [lower-alpha 2] | ||
2016 | Soggade Chinni Nayana | Bangarraju / Dr. Ram Mohan [lower-alpha 2] | also singer for the song "Dikka Dikka Dum Dum" | |
Oopiri | Vikramaditya | |||
2017 | Om Namo Venkatesaya | Hathiram Bhavaji | ||
Raju Gari Gadhi 2 | Rudra | |||
2018 | Officer | Sivaji Rao IPS | 75th Film | |
Devadas | Deva | |||
2019 | Manmadhudu 2 | Sambasiva Rao / Sam | ||
2021 | Wild Dog | Vijay Varma | [10] | |
2022 | Bangarraju | Bangarraju / Dr. Ram Mohan [lower-alpha 2] | also singer for the song "Laddunda" | [11] |
The Ghost | Vikram Naidu | [12] | ||
2024 | Naa Saami Ranga | Kishtayya | ||
TBA | Kubera † | TBA | Filming |
Year | Title | Role | Language | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1990 | Shiva | Shiva | Hindi | Remake of Siva | |
1992 | Khuda Gawah | Inspector Raja Mirza | |||
Drohi | Raghav (Shekhar) [lower-alpha 1] | Simultaneously shot in Telugu as Antham | |||
1995 | Criminal | Dr. Ajay Kumar | Simultaneously shot in Telugu with the same name but the Hindi version was released late. | ||
1996 | Mr. Bechara | Ajay | Remake of the 1994 Tamil film Veetla Visheshanga | ||
1997 | Ratchagan | Ajay Padmanabhan | Tamil | ||
1998 | Angaarey | Raja Lokhande | Hindi | ||
Zakhm | Raman Desai | ||||
2002 | Agni Varsha | Yavakri | |||
2003 | LOC Kargil | Major Padmapani Acharya | |||
2011 | Payanam | Major N. Raveendra | Tamil | Simultaneously shot in Telugu as Gaganam | |
2016 | Thozha | Vikramadhithya (Vikram) | Simultaneously shot in Telugu as Oopiri | ||
2022 | Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva | Anish Shetty | Hindi | [13] | |
TBA | Kubera † | TBA | Tamil Hindi | Filming; Simultaneously being shot in Telugu |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1967 | Sudigundalu | Child artist | |
1988 | Rao Gari Illu | Himself | |
1995 | Ghatothkachudu | Chitha | |
2006 | Style | Mass | |
2010 | Thakita Thakita | Nag | |
2015 | Dongaata | Himself | ''Break up Antu'' song |
Akhil | ''Akkineni Akkineni'' song | ||
2016 | Nirmala Convent | also Producer and singer for the song "Kotha Kotha Bhasha" [14] | |
Premam | Vikram's father |
Year | Film | Ref |
---|---|---|
1979 | Kalyani | |
1980 | Pilla Zamindar | |
Buchi Babu | ||
1981 | Premabhishekam | |
Prema Kanuka | ||
1982 | Yuvaraju | |
1983 | Sri Ranga Neethulu | |
1995 | Sisindri | |
1996 | Ninne Pelladata | |
1998 | Aahaa..! | |
Sri Sita Ramula Kalyanam Chootamu Raarandi | ||
Chandralekha | ||
1999 | Prema Katha | |
Seetharama Raju | ||
2000 | Yuvakudu | |
2002 | Manmadhudu | |
2003 | Satyam | |
2004 | Mass | |
2005 | Super | |
2011 | Rajanna | |
2013 | Bhai | |
Uyyala Jampala | ||
2014 | Manam | |
Oka Laila Kosam | ||
2016 | Soggade Chinni Nayana | |
Nirmala Convent | ||
2017 | Rarandoi Veduka Chudham | |
Hello | ||
2018 | Rangula Ratnam | |
2019 | Manmadhudu 2 | |
2022 | Bangarraju | |
Year | Title | Language | Role | Channel |
---|---|---|---|---|
2014–2016 | Meelo Evaru Koteeswarudu | Telugu | Host | MAA TV |
2019–Present | Bigg Boss | Star Maa | ||
2020 | Loser | Producer | ZEE5 [15] | |
2022–present | Bigg Boss Non-Stop | Host | Disney+ Hotstar |
Year | Title | Performer(s) | Language | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1997 | "Apna Desh to Apna Ho" (Meri Jann Hindustan) | Hariharan | Hindi | |
2013 | "Betiyaan" (Save the Girl Child) | Shankar Mahadevan, Sunidhi Chauhan, Sonu Nigam | Hindi | [16] |
Akkineni Nageswara Rao, widely known as ANR, was an Indian actor and film producer, known for his work majorly in Telugu cinema. He starred in many landmark films in his seventy five-year career, and became one of the most prominent figures of Telugu cinema. Akkineni received seven state Nandi Awards, and five Filmfare Awards South. He is a recipient of the Dada Saheb Phalke Award and Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian award, for his contributions to the fields of 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 Society of Lincoln Center cited Varma as "Bombay's Most Successful Maverick" for his works on experimental films.
Ninne Pelladata is a 1996 Indian Telugu-language romantic family drama film, produced by Nagarjuna under the Annapurna Studios banner and directed by Krishna Vamsi. It stars Nagarjuna and Tabu, and music composed by Sandeep Chowta. The film was remade in Kannada as Preethsod Thappa. The film has received the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu for that year. This film recorded as Industry Hit at box office.
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, film producer, television presenter, and entrepreneur. Nagarjuna has acted predominantly in Telugu cinema, along with a few Hindi and Tamil films. He received two National Film Awards namely, for Ninne Pelladata (1996), which he produced won the Best Feature Film in Telugu and a Special Mention as actor for 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 two National Film Awards, three Filmfare Awards South and four 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. Telugu cinema is based in Film Nagar, Hyderabad. As of 2021, Telugu cinema is the largest film industry in India in terms of box-office. Telugu films sold 23.3 crore tickets in 2022, the highest among various film industries 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, Akkineni Nagarjuna, Suman, Sneha and music was composed by M. M. Keeravani. Cinematography and editing were handled by S. Gopal Reddy and Sreekar Prasad respectively. Upon release, the film got positive reviews.
Kovelamudi Raghavendra Rao is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema besides having directed a few Hindi films. He has garnered four state Nandi Awards and five Filmfare Awards South. In a film career spanning more than four decades, Rao has directed more than a hundred feature films across multiple genres such as romantic comedy, fantasy, melodrama, action thriller, biographical and romance films.
Annapurna Studios is an Indian film production company, founded in 1976 by the actor Akkineni Nageswara Rao (ANR). Located in the heart of Hyderabad, India, the 22-acre (8.9 ha) studio mainly provides services for films, including sound stages for set construction, outdoor sets, floors, back-lots, data storage, editing, dubbing, sound effects, visual effects, digital intermediate, Dolby Vision/HDR, stereo and near field mixing, Dolby Atmos sound mixing, 5.1/7.1/9.1 sound mixing, conforming and mastering, HD/UHD/DCP mastering, and screening theatres, among other amenities.
The Filmfare Best Actor Award is given by the Filmfare magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards South for Telugu films. The awards were extended to "Best Actor" in 1972. The year indicates the year of release of the film. Chiranjeevi is the most nominated with 21 nominations and the most awarded with seven times winning the award.
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.
Akkineni Naga Chaitanya, known professionally as Naga Chaitanya, is an Indian actor who primarily works in Telugu cinema. He has received 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 American actor based in India, who works in Telugu cinema. Akhil was born in San Jose, California, and was raised in Hyderabad, India. Akhil debuted as a child artist in the children's 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.