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 Nandi Awards and six Filmfare Awards South for his work the most by any other south Indian lyricist. 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.
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.
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.
Kota Srinivasa Rao is an Indian character actor known for his work primarily in Telugu cinema and Telugu theatre. He has also starred in a few films in Tamil, Hindi, Kannada and Malayalam. As a former politician, Rao has served as the MLA from Vijayawada East in Andhra Pradesh, India from 1999 to 2004. He made his debut with the Telugu film Pranam Khareedu in 1978. He starred in over 750 feature films. He has received nine state Nandi Awards in various categories of villain, character actor, and supporting actor. In 2012, he has garnered the SIIMA Award for his work in Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum. In 2015, he received India's fourth highest civilian honour Padma Shri for his contribution to Indian cinema.
Bhuvana Chandra is an Indian lyricist, renowned for his work in the Telugu cinema. He served in the Indian Air Force for 18 years before turning into a lyricist. He penned lyrics for more than 2000 songs. He also wrote more than 100 stories, a novel, and many articles in magazines. He participated as a judge in some reality shows. He also acted in the film Welcome Obama directed by Singeetam Srinivasa Rao.
Mandadi Prabhakar Reddy (1935–1997) was an Indian film character actor known for his works in Telugu cinema. He acted in over 472 films over three decades. He wrote stories for several acclaimed films, including Karthika Deepam. The "Dr. M Prabhakara Reddy Chalana Chitra Karmika Chitrapuri" in Manikonda, Hyderabad is named in honor of him. He won four Nandi Awards.
Rama Prabha is an Indian actress who performs in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi films. She has acted in more than 1,400 films and is credited as a character artist who shared screen space with superstars across most generations of South Indian Cinema with a career spanning over six decades. She formed a noted pair on Telugu screen during the 1970s and 1980s with comedian Raja Babu. She acted opposite Nagesh in Shanti Nilayam and many other films from 1968 onwards. She acted in Hindi opposite Mehmood in the movie Do Phool.
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.
Tholi Kodi Koosindi is a 1981 Indian Telugu-language drama film directed by K. Balachander, starring Saritha, Seema, Madhavi, and Sarath Babu with Jeeva as the antagonist. The film was simultaneously made in Tamil as Enga Ooru Kannagi. Both versions were released on 6 February 1981. The Telugu version won three Nandi Awards.
Indukuri Ramakrishnam Raju, popularly known by his pen name Rajasri, was an Indian lyricist, screenwriter, film director, and music composer in Telugu cinema. He has worked on nearly 1000 films, a majority of them are dubbed films. He was popularly referred to as Anuvaada Brahma. He used to pen Telugu lyrics for most of the films dubbed from Tamil in the 1980s and early 1990s.
Sankeertana is a 1987 Telugu-language film, produced by M. Gangaiah under the Konark Movie Creations banner and directed by Geetha Krishna. It stars Nagarjuna and Ramya Krishna, with music composed by Ilaiyaraaja. It was released on 20 March 1987. The film was dubbed in Tamil as En Paadal Unakkaga. The film was partially adapted in Tamil as Deiva Vaakku.
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.
Kizhakke Varum Paattu is a 1993 Indian Tamil-language romance film directed by Radha Bharathi starring Prashanth and Charmila. The film was released on 11 December 1993.
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.
Valluri Balakrishna was an Indian actor who primarily appeared in Telugu films as a comedian. He acted in more than 100 films as a comedian, but the role he played in the movie Patala Bhairavi alongside N. T. Rama Rao as "Anji Gadu" made him popular with the audience. He also played a role Sarathi in the very popular film Mayabazar.
Krishna Kanth is a lyricist in Telugu Cinema, who made his debut with Andala Rakshasi. He wrote songs in films like Jil, Dohchay, Asura, Kumari 21F, Bhale Manchi Roju, Krishna Gaadi Veera Prema Gaadha, Sita Ramam, etc.
