Shivaji Rao Gaikwad, known professionally as Rajinikanth, is an Indian actor who works mainly in Tamil cinema. In a career spanning over five decades, he has done 169 films that includes films in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali, and Malayalam. He is widely regarded to be one of the most successful and popular actors in the history of Indian cinema. Known for his uniquely styled lines and idiosyncrasies in films, he has a huge fan base internationally and has a cult following. The Government of India honoured him with Padma Bhushan in 2000, Padma Vibhushan in 2016, India's third and second highest civilian honours, and highest award in the field of cinema Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2019 for his contributions to Indian cinema.
Konidela Chiranjeevi is an Indian actor, film producer and former politician. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential actors in the history of Indian cinema. In a career spanning over four decades, he starred in over 150 feature films predominantly in Telugu, as well as some films in Hindi, Tamil and Kannada. Chiranjeevi won the Andhra Pradesh state's highest film award, the Raghupathi Venkaiah Award, three Nandi Awards, and nine Filmfare Awards South including the Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2006, he was honoured with the Padma Bhushan, India's third-highest civilian award, for his contributions to Indian cinema. In 2013, CNN-IBN named him as one of "the men who changed the face of the Indian Cinema".
Villupuram Chinnaiya Manrayar Ganesamoorthy, better known by his stage name Sivaji Ganesan, was an Indian actor and producer. He was active in Tamil cinema during the latter half of the 20th century. Sivaji Ganesan is acknowledged as one of the greatest Indian actors of all time and among the most imitated one by other actors. He was known for his versatility and the variety of roles he depicted on screen, which gave him also the Tamil nickname Nadigar Thilagam. In a career that spanned close to five decades, he had acted in 288 films in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi. Sivaji Ganesan is the only Tamil actor to have played the lead role in over 250 films.
Prabhu Ganesan, known professionally as Prabhu, is an Indian actor, businessman and film producer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. He is the son of veteran actor Sivaji Ganesan. He is popularly known as Ilaya Thilagam. He has worked in more than 220 films in lead and supporting roles in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films.
Mohan Ravi, better known by his stage name Jayam Ravi, is an Indian actor who works in the Tamil cinema. He has won a Filmfare Award and three SIIMA Awards. The son of veteran film editor A. Mohan, Ravi made his lead acting debut in Jayam. He has won one Tamil Nadu State Film Award and one Filmfare Award South, respectively.
Sarathkumar Ramanathan is an Indian actor, politician, filmmaker and former bodybuilder who works predominantly in Tamil cinema in addition to Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films. He has acted in more than 145 films and won two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards and three Filmfare Awards South.
Nagesh (born Cheyur Krishnarao Nageshwaran; was an Indian actor, mostly remembered for his roles as a comedian in Tamil films during the 1960s. Nagesh was born in Dharapuram. He acted in over 1,000 films from 1958 to 2008, performing in a variety of roles as comedian, lead roles, supporting actor and antagonist. He has also acted in Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi and Kannada films. Nagesh's style of comedy was largely inspired by Hollywood actor Jerry Lewis. Similarities between Nagesh and Lewis earned Nagesh the sobriquet the "Jerry Lewis of India". He was also nicknamed as the King of Comedy due to his impeccable comedy timing and body language. He featured regularly in the film projects of M. G. Ramachandran and Sivaji Ganesan even at a time when there was a massive rift between the two leading actors in Tamil cinema at that time.
Raghava Lawrence is an Indian dance choreographer, director and actor known for his works primarily in Tamil cinema. After making his debut as a dance choreographer in 1993, he began looking for acting opportunities. He began his career as an actor in 1998, in a Telugu film. He adopted the name "Raghava" in 2001, and worked for many prominent actors and directors in Tamil cinema throughout his career. He got his breakthrough with Telugu film Style and then Muni. Lawrence is also known for his intricate hip-hop and westernised dance moves and has won four Filmfare Awards, three Nandi Awards and one Tamil Nadu State Film Award for best choreography.
Bhupatiraju Ravi Shankar Raju, known professionally as Ravi Teja, is an Indian actor and film producer who mainly works in Telugu cinema. Known for his roles in action comedy films, he is popular by the moniker "Mass Maharaja". One of the highest-paid Telugu film actors, Teja has won three state Nandi Awards and one Filmfare Award South. He was featured by Forbes India in the list of top 100 Celebrities in 2012, 2013, and 2015.
Sharwanand Myneni, known mononymously as Sharwanand, is an Indian actor and producer who primarily works in Telugu films alongside a few Tamil films. He made his acting debut in 2004 with the film Aidho Tareekhu.
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.
Suman is an Indian actor known for his work in South Indian films. He played the male lead and also character actor mostly in Telugu and Tamil. He also featured in a few Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi. In a career spanning almost 4 decades, he has acted in more than 700 movies in 10 languages. He was one of the most prominent actors of Telugu cinema during the 1980s and 1990s.
Indukuri Sunil Varma, known mononymously as Sunil, is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Telugu films, and has also featured in a few Tamil films. Noted for his comic roles, Sunil has appeared in over 180 films in his career, including a few lead roles. He has won three state Nandi Awards and two Filmfare Awards South. He was widely considered as one of Tollywood's most finest comedians during his peak in the 2000s, most known for his distinct laugh and delivery of jokes.
Saridey Varalakshmi was an Indian actress and singer who worked in Telugu and Tamil-language films. She was popular for her roles and songs in Telugu films like Sri Venkateswara Mahatyam (1960) and Mahamantri Timmarasu (1962) and Tamil films like Veerapandiya Kattabomman (1959) and in Poova Thalaiya (1969).
Yerra Seshagiri Rao, popularly known as Giri Babu, is an Indian actor, producer, and director who primarily woks in Telugu films. His son, Raghu Babu, is a notable actor-director.
Aadhi Pinisetty is an Indian actor who appears in Tamil and Telugu films. He is the recipient of a Nandi Award and a SIIMA Award, in addition to two nominations for Filmfare Awards South.
Sontineni Sivaji is an Indian actor, dubbing artist, and politician. He works in Telugu cinema and won the Nandi Award for Best Male Dubbing Artist for Dil. His notable performances include Missamma (2003), Adirindayya Chandram (2005), Satyabhama (2007), Mantra (2007), Taj Mahal (2010), and Gangstars (2018). In 2023, he entered in Telugu reality TV show Bigg Boss 7, and emerged as the second runner-up.
Pally Babu Mohan known as Babu Mohan is an Indian actor and politician from 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.
Jayasimha, better known as Bobby Simha, is an Indian actor who predominantly appears in Tamil and Telugu language films, alongside a few Malayalam-language films. After making brief appearances in the films Kadhalil Sodhappuvadhu Yeppadi and Pizza (2012), he portrayed a kidnapper in Nalan Kumarasamy's Soodhu Kavvum and a comic villain in Alphonse Putharen's Neram. Simha's subsequent performance as the Madurai gangster Sethu in Karthik Subbaraj's Jigarthanda (2014) won him critical acclaim and the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Sree Vishnu is an Indian actor who works in Telugu films. After appearing in minor roles, Vishnu got his breakthrough with Prema Ishq Kaadhal (2013). He later starred in films such as Second Hand (2013), Appatlo Okadundevadu (2016), Vunnadhi Okate Zindagi (2017), Mental Madhilo (2017), Brochevarevarura (2019), and Raja Raja Chora (2021). In 2018, he was nominated for SIIMA Award for Best Supporting Actor for the film Vunnadhi Okate Zindagi (2017).
