Sirivennela Seetharama Sastry was an Indian poet and lyricist known for his works in Telugu cinema and Telugu theatre. He acquired the stage name Sirivennela after writing the lyrics for the 1986 film of same name. Sastry has garnered several awards including eleven state Nandi Awards and five Filmfare Awards South for his work. He had penned lyrics for over 3,000 songs until 2020. In 2019, he was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian award in India, for his contributions to the field of arts and aesthetics.
Daggubati Ramanaidu was an Indian film producer known for his work in Telugu cinema. He founded Suresh Productions in 1964 which became of one of the largest film production companies in India. He was one of the most influential movie Moguls in Indian cinema. He was placed in the Guinness Book of World Records for the most films produced by an individual, with more than 150 films in all official Indian languages. He also served as a Member of Parliament for the Bapatla constituency in Andhra Pradesh in the 13th Lok Sabha from 1999 to 2004.
Daggubati Venkatesh, also known as Victory Venkatesh, is an Indian actor and film producer known for his work predominantly in Telugu cinema and a few Hindi films. Venkatesh has a prolific career spanning over 37 years and is known for portraying a variety of challenging characters. He has received many accolades including six Filmfare Awards and five Nandi Awards.
A. Karunakaran is a Telugu film director known for Tholi Prema (1998), Happy (2006), Ullasamga Utsahamga (2008) and Darling (2010).
Marthand K. Venkatesh is an Indian film editor who mostly works for Telugu films, and is the winner of four Nandi Awards.
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.
Dharma Chakram is a 1996 Indian Telugu-language action thriller film written and directed by Suresh Krissna, and produced by D. Ramanaidu under the Suresh Productions banner. The film stars Venkatesh, Ramya Krishna, and Prema while Girish Karnad plays a pivotal role. The music was composed by M. M. Srilekha. Venkatesh received the Nandi Award for Best Actor and won the Filmfare Best Actor Award (Telugu). The film was dubbed in Tamil as Nakkeeran. The film was successful at the box office.
Dharmavarapu Subrahmanyam was an Indian actor, comedian and film director who worked in Telugu cinema. He was established as one of the highly paid and top most leading comedians in Telugu film industry. Dharmavarapu had huge fan following among Telugu audience for his unique style and dialogue modulation. He hosted several popular television shows.
Srinu Vaitla is an Indian film director who works in Telugu cinema. Known for the best film works in the action comedy genre, Vaitla made his directional debut with Nee Kosam (1999) starring Ravi Teja and Maheswari. His second directorial venture Anandam (2001) gave him recognition as a director. He went on to direct many Telugu films such as Sontham, Venky, Dhee, Dubai Seenu, Ready, King, Dookudu, and Baadshah. Since his film Venky, he has successfully collaborated with Kona Venkat and Gopi Mohan who guide him in writing screenplay in further of his films.
Annapurna, also credited as Annapurnamma, is an Indian actress who appears primarily in Telugu films. She is known for her portrayal as mother, mother-in-law, grand mother, aunt, etc. She started her film career as an actor alongside Mohan Babu in the blockbuster Telugu film Swargam Narakam directed by Dasari Narayana Rao in 1975. She appeared in over 900 films and won three Nandi Awards.
Nirmalamma was an Indian actress in the Telugu cinema. She appeared in more than 1000 films and was well known for her grandmother roles in several films. She won two Nandi Awards.
Kalisundham Raa is a 2000 Indian Telugu-language drama film directed by Udayasankar and produced by D. Suresh Babu. It stars Venkatesh and Simran, with music composed by S. A. Rajkumar. It received the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu at National Film Awards 2001. The film won four Nandi Awards by Government of Andhra Pradesh. The film was remade in Hindi as Kuch Tum Kaho Kuch Hum Kahein (2002) and in Kannada as Ondagona Baa (2003).
Nee Kosam is a 1999 Indian Telugu-language romantic drama film produced by Ghanta Srinivasa Rao under the Kalpana Creations banner. This movie marks the debut of Srinu Vaitla as a director. The film features Ravi Teja and Maheswari in the lead roles. This is also the first collaboration between Ravi Teja and Srinu Vaitla. The music has been composed R. P. Patnaik. Despite the film being a box office failure, the film won several Nandi Awards.
Prema Katha is a 1999 Indian Telugu-language romance drama film written by Vara Prasad Varma and directed by Ram Gopal Varma. It is the debut film of both Sumanth and Antara Mali as leads in the Telugu film industry. The film opened to positive reviews by critics but was commercially unsuccessful. It had a highly praised soundtrack by Sandeep Chowta including the hit song "Devudu Karunisthaadani". The film bagged six state Nandi Awards and was dubbed into Tamil as Kadhal Vanile.
Prema (transl. Love) is a 1989 Indian Telugu-language musical romance film, produced by D. Ramanaidu under the Rajeswari Films banner and directed by Suresh Krissna in his Telugu film debut. It stars Venkatesh and Revathi, with original soundtrack by Ilaiyaraaja. It was dubbed into Tamil as Anbu Chinnam (1990). Suresh remade the film in Hindi as Love (1991). The film won four Nandi Awards.
Gundu Hanumantha Rao was an Indian actor and comedian who worked in Telugu films, theatre, and television. He first appeared in Jandhyala's film Aha Naa Pellanta in 1987 and gained popularity in comedian roles in S. V. Krishna Reddy's films. He is known for his roles in Rajendrudu Gajendrudu,Mayalodu, Yamaleela, Srivariki Premalekha,Pellaniki Premalekha Priyuraliki Subhalekha (1992), Apparao Driving School, and the TV serial Amrutham. He won three TV Nandi Awards from Andhra Pradesh Government, one of them for Amrutham serial. He was a renowned stage artist before entering into cinema, his first drama being "Ravana Bramha" at the age of 18. He acted in over 600 movies in Telugu and was a popular TV artist.
Kousalya is a playback singer and Music Composer from South Indian Cinema. Started playback singing career in the year 1999 with Telugu movie Nee Kosam, music scored by R.P.Patnaik. She rendered more than 400 songs for Telugu, Tamil and Kannada films. She did her Post Graduation in Carnatic music from Sri Padmavathi Mahila University, Tirupathi. Presently pursuing doctoral research in Music
Durga Prabha, known by her stage name, Hema Chaudhary is an Indian actress who has predominantly acted in Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam and Tamil films. Starting her career as a lead actress in the Telugu film Pelli Kani Pelli in 1976, she switched over to supporting roles in the 1980s.
G. V. Narayana Rao is a Telugu actor, producer. He started his acting career with 1976 film Anthuleni Katha directed by K. Balachander. He received Nandi Award as a best supporting actor for this film. He also received special jury award for Oka Oori Katha. He acted in nearly 40 films as a leading actor, and also produced 4 films.
SIIMA Award for Best Comedian – Telugu is presented by Vibri media group as part of its annual South Indian International Movie Awards, for the best acting done by an actor/actress in a comic role in Telugu films. The award was first given in 2012 for films released in 2011.
