Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao, often referred to by his initials NTR, was an Indian actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter, film editor, philanthropist and politician who served as the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh for seven years over four terms. He is regarded as one of the most influential actors of Indian cinema. He starred in over 300 films, predominantly in Telugu cinema, and was referred to as "Viswa Vikhyatha Nata Sarvabhouma". Rao received three National Film Awards for co-producing Thodu Dongalu (1954) and Seetharama Kalyanam (1960) under National Art Theater, Madras, and for directing Varakatnam (1970). In 1968, The Government of India honoured him with Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian award, for his contributions to Indian cinema. In 2013, Rao was voted as "Greatest Indian Actor of All Time" in a CNN-IBN national poll conducted on the occasion of the Centenary of Indian Cinema.
The Telugu Desam Party is an Indian regional political party primarily active in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. It was founded by Telugu matinée idol N. T. Rama Rao (NTR) on 29 March 1982 and has focused on supporting Telugu people. 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.
The National Democratic Alliance is an Indian big tent multi-party political alliance, led by the country's biggest political party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). It was founded on 15 May 1998. It currently has a majority in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, and controls the Government of India as well as the governments of 19 out of 28 Indian states.
Krishnan Nair Shantakumari Chithra is an Indian playback singer and Carnatic musician. In a career spanning around five decades, she has recorded over 25,000 Songs in various Indian languages languages such as Tamil, Kannada, Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam, Odia, Bengali, Punjabi, Rajasthani, Marathi, Tulu, Badaga, Banjara, Urdu, Assamese, Gujarati and Sanskrit as well as foreign languages such as Malay, Latin, Arabic, Sinhalese, Urdu (Pakistan), English and French.
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 characters. He has received many accolades including six Filmfare Awards and five Nandi Awards.
Konidela Pawan Kalyan is an Indian politician, actor and philanthropist serving as the 11th Deputy Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh since June 2024. He is also the Minister of Panchayat Raj, Rural Development and Rural Water Supply; Environment, Forest, Science and Technology in the Government of Andhra Pradesh and an MLA representing the Pithapuram constituency. He is the founder and president of the Janasena Party.
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. Based in Film Nagar, Hyderabad, Telugu cinema is the largest film industry in India by box-office revenue as of 2021. Telugu films sold 23.3 crore tickets in 2022, the highest among all Indian film industries. As of 2023, Andhra Pradesh has the highest number of movie screens in India.
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 and Tamil 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.
Konidela Ram Charan is an Indian actor, film producer, and entrepreneur who primarily works in Telugu cinema. He is one of the highest-paid actors in Indian cinema and is also known for his dancing. He has featured in Forbes India's Celebrity 100 list since 2013. Charan is the recipient of several awards, including four Filmfare Awards and two Nandi Awards.
Indian Americans are people with ancestry from India who are citizens or permanent residents of the United States. 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 5.1 million, Indian Americans make up approximately 1.47% of the U.S. population and are the largest group of South Asian Americans, the largest Asian-alone group, and the second-largest group of Asian Americans after Chinese Americans. Indian Americans have the highest median household income and the second highest per capita income among other Asian ethnic groups working in the United States.
Ek Niranjan is a 2009 Indian Telugu-language action comedy 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.
Samantha Ruth Prabhu is an Indian actress who works predominantly in Telugu and Tamil films. One of South India's highest-paid actresses, Samantha is the recipient of several accolades, including four Filmfare Awards South, two Nandi Awards and a Tamil Nadu State Film Award.
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.
In Indian politics, the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee or (TPCC) is the state unit of the Indian National Congress (INC) in the state of Telangana. 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 Bomma Mahesh Kumar Goud. The committee has a long history of political influence in the united Andhra Pradesh state, however, it has however, it has historically faced challenges, including fluctuations in electoral support. However, following significant efforts in 2023, the TPCC regained political power in Telangana. With the INC in government in Telangana since December 2023 after the 2023 Telangana Legislative Assembly election, the committee is actively involved in governance and party affairs.
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.
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.
