Andhra Pradesh is a state in the southern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state with an area of 162,970 km2 (62,920 sq mi) and the tenth-most populous state with 49,577,103 inhabitants based on 2011 census data. It shares borders with Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and the Bay of Bengal. It has the second-longest coastline in India at about 974 km (605 mi). After existence as Andhra State and unified Andhra Pradesh, the state took its present form on 2 June 2014, when the new state of Telangana was formed through bifurcation. Amaravati is the capital of the state, with the largest city being Visakhapatnam. Telugu, one of the classical languages of India used by the majority of people, is the first official language.
The Telugu Desam Party is an Indian Telugu regional political party with influence in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. It was founded by the former chief minister of Andhra Pradesh N. T. Rama Rao (N.T.R.) on 29 March 1982 and has focused on supporting Telugu speakers. The party has won a five-time majority in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly and has emerged as the most successful political outfit in the state's history. It is currently the ruling party in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly.
Konidela Chiranjeevi is an Indian actor, film producer and politician who predominantly works in Telugu cinema. 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 2024, the Government of India honoured him with Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian honour. Earlier 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".
The Biju Janata Dal is an Indian regional political party with significant influence in the state of Odisha. It was founded by the former minister of mines and minerals of the Republic of India Naveen Patnaik on 26 December 1997 as a breakaway faction from the Janata Dal. The BJD is led by its founder as president of the party. The headquarters of the party is located in Forest Park, Bhubaneswar.
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.
Uppalapati Venkata Suryanarayana Prabhas Raju, known mononymously as Prabhas, is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Telugu cinema. He is one of the highest-paid actors in Indian cinema and has been featured in Forbes India's Celebrity 100 list since 2015. Referred to in the media as the "Rebel Star", he has appeared in over 20 films, and has received seven Filmfare Awards nominations, a Nandi Award, and a SIIMA Award.
Bangalore Venkata Raman was an Indian astrologer in modern India and an author of numerous books and articles. He was instrumental in making Vedic Astrology or Hindu astrology known and respected throughout India and across the world. With the help of his sons Niranjan Babu and Sachidananda Babu, he also started the Raman & Rajeswari Research Foundation to promote the knowledge of Astrology and Vastu Shastra.
Kancharla Gopanna, popularly known as Bhakta Ramadasu or Bhadrachala Ramadasu, was a 17th-century devotee of the Hindu god Rama, a saint-poet and a composer of Carnatic music. He is a famous Vaggeyakara from the Telugu classical era. He was born in the village of Nelakondapalli in Khammam district, and orphaned as a teenager. He spent his later years in Bhadrachalam and 12 years in solitary confinement at the Golconda prison during the Qutb Shahi rule. Different mythical stories about his life circulate in the Telugu tradition. He is renowned for constructing the famous Sita Ramachandraswamy Temple and pilgrimage center on the banks of river Godavari at Bhadrachalam. His devotional kirtana lyrics to Rama illustrate the classical Pallavi, Anupallavi and Charanam genre composed mostly in Telugu, some in Sanskrit and with occasional use of Tamil language. These are famous in South Indian classical music as Ramadaasu Keertanalu.
Sonu Sood is an Indian actor, film producer, model, humanitarian, and philanthropist who works predominantly in Hindi, Telugu films and few Tamil, Kannada films. He is known for his performances as the negative lead in most of his films and for his humanitarian work, especially during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Kakarla Subba Rao was an Indian radiologist who served as the first director of Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad. For his contributions to the field of medicine, Rao was conferred Padma Shri in 2000, the fourth highest civilian award by the Government of India. He was also the founder and president of the Telugu Association of North America.
Indian Americans are citizens of the United States with ancestry from India. The terms Asian Indian and East Indian are used to avoid confusion with Native Americans in the United States, who are also referred to as "Indians" or "American Indians". With a population of more than 4.9 million, Indian Americans make up approximately 1.35% of the U.S. population and are the largest group of South Asian Americans, the largest Asian-alone group, and the largest group of Asian Americans after Chinese Americans. Indian Americans are the highest-earning ethnic group in the United States.
Ek Niranjan is a 2009 Indian Telugu-language action film directed by Puri Jagannadh and produced by Adityaram Movies. The film stars Prabhas in the lead role, alongside Kangana Ranaut, Sonu Sood and Mukul Dev.
V. Jayaprakash is an Indian actor and producer who works in Tamil and Telugu films. He ventured into film business in the early 2000s as a producer, making several films under his banner GJ Cinema and later turned actor, with Cheran's 2007 film, Mayakannadi. Subsequently, performing a variety of supporting roles, he found more success as a character actor, with his most notable performances in Pasanga (2009), Naadodigal (2009), Naan Mahaan Alla (2010), Yuddham Sei (2011), Mankatha (2011), Moodar Koodam (2013) and Pannaiyarum Padminiyum (2014).
Rakul Preet Singh is an Indian actress who predominantly works in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil films. She has won several awards including a South Indian International Movie Award, in addition to four nominations at the Filmfare Awards South.
The Telugu Diaspora refers to Telugu people who live outside their homeland of Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. They are predominantly found in North America, Europe, Australia, Caribbean, Gulf, Africa and other regions around the world. There are also few Telugus from other Indian states such as Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Odisha and Maharashtra, who live outside India. Telugus of Andhra Pradesh origin, living outside India are often referred as Non-resident Andhras (NRA). After the bifurcation of the United Andhra Pradesh, these are popularly referred as Non-resident Telugus.
The Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee or (TPCC) is the state unit of the Indian National Congress (INC) in the state of Telangana, India. It is responsible for organizing and coordinating the party's activities and campaigns within the state, as well as selecting candidates for local, state, and national elections. The current president of the Telangana PCC is Anumula Revanth Reddy. The committee has a long history of political influence in the united Andhra Pradesh state, however, it has faced challenges in recent years, including a decline in electoral support, particularly after the formation of Telangana as a separate state in 2014.
Size Zero is a 2015 Indian romantic comedy film directed by Prakash Kovelamudi and written by Kanika Dhillon. The film was simultaneously shot in Telugu and Tamil language versions, the latter titled Inji Iduppazhagi. Produced by Prasad V. Potluri, the film features Anushka Shetty in the lead role while Arya, Prakash Raj, Urvashi and Sonal Chauhan play supporting roles.
RRR is a 2022 Indian Telugu-language epic period action drama film directed by S. S. Rajamouli, who co-wrote the film with V. Vijayendra Prasad. It was produced by D. V. V. Danayya of DVV Entertainment. The film stars N. T. Rama Rao Jr., Ram Charan, Ajay Devgn, Alia Bhatt, Shriya Saran, Samuthirakani, Ray Stevenson, Alison Doody, and Olivia Morris. It is a historical fiction film about two Indian revolutionaries, Alluri Sitarama Raju (Charan) and Komaram Bheem, their friendship, and their fight against the British Raj.
Tummala Narendra Choudary is an Indian media entrepreneur and businessman who founded the Telugu news channel NTV and first Telugu devotional channel Bhakthi TV. He also serves as the chairman of Rachana Group of Companies which has interests in publishing, infrastructure development, advertising etc.
