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.
Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana is a 2005 Indian Telugu-language romantic comedy film directed by Prabhu Deva in his directorial debut and produced by M. S. Raju under Sumanth Art Productions who gave the screenplay as well. The film stars Srihari, Siddharth and Trisha. The music is composed by Devi Sri Prasad with cinematography by Venu. The film's title was inspired by the song of the same name from Varsham (2004), sung by K. S. Chithra.
M. S. Raju is an Indian film producer, director, and screenwriter who works in Telugu cinema. He is the founder and owner of the film production company Sumanth Art Productions. He won three Filmfare Awards South — becoming the first producer to receive three consecutive Filmfare Awards — for the films Okkadu (2003), Varsham (2004), and Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana (2005). He also produced the successful films Sathruvu (1991), Devi (1999), Manasantha Nuvve (2001), and Nee Sneham (2002).
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.
The Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor – Telugu is given by the Filmfare magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Telugu films. The award was introduced and first given at the 50th South Filmfare Awards in 2002, with Prakash Raj being the first recipient.
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.
Jayasudha Kapoor, known mononyomusly as Jayasudha is an Indian actress and politician known for her works predominantly in Telugu and Tamil cinema. She has also worked in few Kannada, Malayalam, and Hindi films. Known as natural actress, in a career spanning over 5 decades she received nine state Nandi Awards for her acting in works such as Jyothi (1976), Idi Katha Kaadu (1979), Premabhishekam (1981), Meghasandesam (1982), and Dharmaatmudu (1983).
Kurumaddali Lakshmi Narasimha Rao, better known by his stage name Suthi Velu, was an Indian actor and comedian known for his works in Telugu cinema. He has acted in more than 200 films, and won four state Nandi Awards.
Sarada is an Indian actress and politician. Known for her work predominantly in Telugu films and Malayalam films, Sarada is the recipient of three National Awards. She has also appeared in few Tamil, Hindi as well as Kannada language films. She is also known as Urvasi Sarada – National Film Award for Best Actress was officially designated the Urvasi Award. She won three National Awards for her roles in Thulabharam (1968), Swayamvaram (1972), and Nimajjanam (1977). Sarada won the NTR National Award by the Government of Andhra Pradesh for her contributions to Indian cinema.
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.
Chandra Mohan was an Indian actor known for his works predominantly in Telugu films. He won a Filmfare Award South and two Nandi Awards.
Punyamurthula Appalaraju, better known by his stage name Raja Babu, was an Indian actor and comedian known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema. He is noted as one of the finest Telugu comedians. A 9 ft bronze statue of Rajababu was unveiled in his birthplace of Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh in 2012.
Repati Pourulu is a 1986 Indian Telugu-language action film written and directed by T. Krishna. The film stars Vijayashanti and Rajasekhar while Anuradha and Y. Vijaya play supporting roles. It has music composed by K. Chakravarthy. The film won two Nandi Awards and the Filmfare Award for Best Film – Telugu.
Gollapudi Maruti Rao was an Indian actor, writer and director known for his works in Telugu cinema, Telugu theatre, and Telugu literature. Maruti Rao acted in over 250 Telugu films in a variety of roles. His noted literary works and plays, like Rendu Rellu Aaru, Patita, Karuninchani Devatalu, Mahanatudu, Kaalam Venakku Tirigindi, Aasayaalaku Sankellu, won numerous State Awards.
Rallapalli Venkata Narasimha Rao, popularly known as Rallapalli, was an Indian actor known for his works primarily in Telugu films and television. He won two state Nandi Awards.
Amara Deepam is a 1977 Indian Telugu-language drama film directed by K. Raghavendra Rao. The film stars Krishnam Raju, Murali Mohan and Jayasudha. It is a remake of the Malayalam film Theekkanal (1976) which was earlier remade in Tamil as Dheepam (1977). The film was released on 29 September 1977. Krishnam Raju received the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu and Nandi Award for Best Actor.
Amanchi Venkata Subrahmanyam, better known and credited by his initials AVS, was an Indian actor, comedian, producer, director, and journalist known for his works in Telugu cinema. A.V.S. was known particularly for his comic dialogue delivery, and expressions. He starred in over five hundred feature films and has garnered four state Nandi Awards, including Best Comedian, and Best character actor.
Santha Kumari, famously known as Disco Shanti, is an Indian actress who was particularly famous in South India for her appearances in item numbers.
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.
