Tallapaka Annamacharya, also popularly known as Annamayya, was a musician, composer, and a Hindu saint. He is the earliest known Indian musician to compose songs called samkirtanas. His devotional samkirtanas were in the praise of Venkateswara, a form of Vishnu.Annamayya is said to have composed as many as 32,000 samkirtanas (songs) on the praise of Venkateswara of which only about 12,000 are available today. He wrote highest numbers of Kirtanas of all time on praise of Lord Vishnu The musical form of the kirtana songs that he composed, which are still popular among Carnatic music concert artists, have strongly influenced the structure of Carnatic music compositions. His compositions are classified as Adhyatma (spiritual) and Sringara (romantic). Annamacharya is remembered for his saintly life, as one of the greatest musicians and is honoured as a great devotee of Vishnu by devotees and saintly singers. He was one of the first few who opposed the social stigma towards the untouchable castes in his era.
Akkineni Nagarjuna Rao, known mononymously as Nagarjuna, is an Indian actor, film producer, television presenter, and entrepreneur. Nagarjuna has acted predominantly in Telugu cinema, along with a few Hindi and Tamil films. He received two National Film Awards namely, for Ninne Pelladata (1996), which he produced won the Best Feature Film in Telugu and a Special Mention as actor for Annamayya (1997); nine state Nandi Awards, and three Filmfare Awards South.
Koduri Marakathamani Keeravaani, professionally known as M. M. Keeravani, is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer and lyricist, who predominantly works in Telugu cinema. His accolades include an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a LAFCA Award, eleven Nandi Awards, eight Filmfare Awards, two National Film Awards and a Critics' Choice Movie Award. In 2023, the Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri for his contributions towards Indian cinema.
Sri Ramadasu is 2006 Indian Telugu-language biographical film, based on the life of musician saint Kancharla Gopanna. A reboot of V. Nagayya's 1964 film Ramadasu; the film is written and directed by K. Raghavendra Rao. Produced by Konda Krishnam Raju the film starred Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Akkineni Nagarjuna, Suman, Sneha and music was composed by M. M. Keeravani. Cinematography and editing were handled by S. Gopal Reddy and Sreekar Prasad respectively. Upon release, the film got positive reviews.
Kovelamudi Raghavendra Rao is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema besides having directed a few Hindi films. He has garnered four state Nandi Awards and five Filmfare Awards South. In a film career spanning more than four decades, Rao has directed more than a hundred feature films across multiple genres such as romantic comedy, fantasy, melodrama, action thriller, biographical and romance films.
The Filmfare Best Actor Award is given by the Filmfare magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards South for Telugu films. The awards were extended to "Best Actor" in 1972. The year indicates the year of release of the film. Chiranjeevi is the most nominated with 21 nominations and the most awarded with seven times winning the award.
Nedunuri Krishnamurthy was an Indian Carnatic vocalist. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1991.
Ganesh is a 1998 Indian Telugu-language action drama film produced by D. Suresh Babu under the Suresh Productions banner, directed by Thirupathisamy. It stars Venkatesh, Rambha and Madhu Bala, with music composed by Mani Sharma.
Sisindri is a 1995 Indian Telugu-language comedy film directed by Siva Nageswara Rao and produced by Nagarjuna. The film stars Nagarjuna's son Akhil Akkineni. Nagarjuna Akkineni, Giri Babu, Tanikella Bharani, Sudhakar, Aamani, Sarath Babu and Subhalekha Sudhakar play supporting roles. Music is composed by Raj, his debut film. The film is inspired by the American film Baby's Day Out (1994).
Gharana Bullodu is a 1995 Telugu-language film directed by K. Raghavendra Rao and written by Vijayendra Prasad. It stars Nagarjuna, Ramya Krishna, Aamani playing the lead roles and music composed by M. M. Keeravani. The film was produced by K. Krishna Mohan Rao under RK Film Associates. The film was recorded as a Blockbuster Hit at the box office.
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.
Pelli Sandadi is a 1996 Indian Telugu-language musical romance film written and directed by K. Raghavendra Rao. The film stars Srikanth, Ravali and Deepti Bhatnagar.
President Gari Pellam is a 1992 Indian Telugu-language film directed by A. Kodandarami Reddy and produced by V. Doraswamy Raju under VMC Productions. It stars Nagarjuna and Meena, with music composed by M. M. Keeravani. The movie was later dubbed into Tamil as Thalaivar Pondatti. This film recorded as a super hit.
Allari Priyudu is a 1993 Indian Telugu-language musical romantic comedy film written and directed by K. Raghavendra Rao. The film stars Rajasekhar, Ramya Krishna and Madhoo. The film was featured at the 25th IFFI Indian panorama mainstream section. The film was dubbed into Tamil as Yaarukku Mappillai Yaaro. It was remade in Kannada as Chora Chittha Chora, The film was recorded as a Blockbuster at the box office. The film won two Filmfare Awards and two state Nandi Awards.
Aahaa..! (transl. Wow..!) is a 1998 Indian Telugu-language romance film produced by Nagarjuna Akkineni on Great India Entertainments and directed by Suresh Krissna. It stars Jagapathi Babu, Sanghavi, Jayasudha, Raghuvaran, Bhanupriya and music composed by Vandemataram Srinivas. The film is remake of Krishna's own Tamil film Aahaa..!. The film released to positive reviews and won a South Filmfare Award.
Premabhishekam is a 1981 Indian Telugu-language romantic drama film written and directed by Dasari Narayana Rao. Produced by Venkat Akkineni and Nagarjuna Akkineni under Annapurna Studios banner. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Jayasudha, Sridevi, Murali Mohan, Mohan Babu and music composed by Chakravarthy. This film is copied from "send me no flowers" 1964 hollywood movie. Released on 18 February 1981, Premabhishekam was a commercial success and industry hit grossing over ₹4crore at the box office. It had a theatrical run of 527 days and became the first film to complete a 75-week run in Andhra Pradesh. The film won four Nandi Awards and two Filmfare Awards South. It was later remade in Tamil as Vazhvey Maayam and in Hindi as Prem Tapasya
Seetharama Raju is a 1999 Indian Telugu-language drama film written and directed by Y. V. S. Chowdary. Produced by Nagarjuna, and D. Sivaprasad Reddy, it stars Nandamuri Harikrishna, Nagarjuna Akkineni, Sakshi Shivanand, Sanghavi with music composed by M. M. Keeravani. The film won two state Nandi Awards.
Om Namo Venkatesaya is a 2017 Indian Telugu-language Hindu devotional biographical film directed by K. Raghavendra Rao and produced by A. Mahesh Reddy on AMR Sai Krupa Entertainments banner. The film stars Nagarjuna as Hathiram Bhavaji, alongside Anushka Shetty, Jagapathi Babu, Saurabh Raj Jain, and Pragya Jaiswal. Sai Kumar, Rao Ramesh, Sampath Raj, Ashmita Karnani, Brahmanandam, and Ajay play supporting roles. It has music composed by M. M. Keeravani. The film was dubbed in Tamil as Akhilandakoti Brahmandanayagan. The film failed at the box office.
V. Doraswamy Raju was an Indian film producer, distributor, and politician. He produced and distributed several Telugu films under his banner VMC Productions. He served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly from the Telugu Desam Party representing Nagari constituency, Andhra Pradesh between 1994 and 1999. He won two Nandi Awards and two Filmfare Awards.
