Annamayya is a 1997 Indian Telugu-language hagiographical film directed by K. Raghavendra Rao and produced by V. Doraswamy Raju under the VMC Productions banner. The film portrays the life of the 15th century composer Annamacharya, played by Nagarjuna Akkineni who features alongside an ensemble cast including Mohan Babu, Suman, Ramya Krishna, Bhanupriya, Roja, and Kasthuri. The film has score and soundtrack composed by M. M. Keeravani. Upon release, the film received positive reviews and won eight Nandi Awards, three Filmfare Awards and two National Film Awards. The film was featured in the Indian panorama mainstream section at the 29th IFFI.
P. Bhanumathi Ramakrishna was an Indian actress, singer, film producer, director, music composer, and novelist. She is regarded as the first female super star of Telugu cinema. She is also considered the first female director of Telugu cinema with her debut directorial Chandirani (1953). Bhanumathi appeared in over 100 films predominantly in Telugu and Tamil languages. She was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2001 for her contribution to the Indian cinema. She was honored among "women in cinema" at the 30th International Film Festival of India.
R. K. Roja Selvamani, is an Indian politician and former actress. She is currently serving as Minister for Tourism, Culture and Youth Advancement of Andhra Pradesh since 11 April 2022.
Saritha is an Indian actress who has acted in more than 500 films in Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu languages. She was one of the popular and critically acclaimed lead actresses during the 1980s. She also appeared in a television serial, Selvi. She is also credited as a dubbing artist. She has dubbed her voice for Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Telugu movies for actresses like Nagma, Vijayashanti, Tabu, Sushmita Sen, Ramya Krishnan and Soundarya in 1990s.
Behara Ganesh Patro was an Indian playwright and screenwriter known for his works in Telugu cinema. He started his career in 1965, and wrote dialogues, songs, and stories for Telugu films from the 1970s up to the 1990s, including, Rudraveena, Maro Charitra, Idi Katha Kaadu, Mayuri, and Seetharamayya Gari Manavaralu.
Allu Aravind is an Indian film producer, distributor, and businessman. He is regarded as one of the most powerful and successful producers in South Indian cinema. He is the founder of Geetha Arts, a major film production house in the Telugu film industry. He is also the co-owner of Aha, an online streaming service, and the Indian Super League club, Kerala Blasters FC. Aravind won the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement and two Nandi Awards for his work as a producer.
The Nandi Awards are the awards that recognise excellence in Telugu cinema, Telugu theatre, Telugu television, and Lifetime achievements in Indian cinema. Presented annually by the Government of Andhra Pradesh the awards are named after the big granite bull at Lepakshi - a cultural and historical symbol of the Telugu people.
The Nandi Award for Best Villain winners since 1985:
Ghattamaneni Siva Rama Krishna Murthy, known mononymously as Krishna, was an Indian actor, director and producer known for his work predominantly in Telugu cinema. In a career spanning more than five decades, he starred in over 350 films in a variety of roles. He is referred to as "Superstar" in the Telugu media. In 2009, the government of India honoured him with the Padma Bhushan for his contributions to Indian cinema. He was elected as a Member of Parliament for the Congress party in 1989. In 1997, he received the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award – South in addition to Honorary doctorate from Andhra University in 2008. He died on 15 November 2022 due to cardiac arrest.
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 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).
Satti Venkata Krishna Reddy is an Indian film director, screenwriter, composer, and actor known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema. He has garnered three state Nandi Awards and the Filmfare Best Telugu Director Award.
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.
Telugu Cinema Charitra, is a research book on Telugu Cinema History, by film critic, writer and Journalist B. Venkateshwarlu, published in 1997. The book is considered one of the first major studies of Telugu Film Industry between 1912 and 1995.
Telugu Cinema Vythalikulu, is a 2002 research book on Telugu cinema persons like directors, actors, artists, producers and technicians, by film critic, writer and journalist Bulemoni Venkateshwarlu. The book is considered one of the major studies of Telugu Filmdom and film personalities between 1908 and 2002.
Datla Venkata Suryanarayana Raju, better known as D. V. S. Raju was an Indian film producer known for his works in Telugu Cinema and Bollywood. He was instrumental in shifting the Telugu film industry from Chennai to Hyderabad. He was the recipient of the Raghupathi Venkaiah Award, the Bhishma Award and the Padma Shri for his contributions to Indian cinema.
Kanaala Nanjunda Tirumala Sastry was an Indian film critic, screenwriter, director, littérateur, and producer, known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema. He has garnered six National Film Awards, three Nandi Awards and three International honors.
Akkineni Kutumba Rao is an Indian filmmaker known for his work in Telugu parallel cinema, and documentary films. He won three International awards, two Nandi Awards and one National Film Award.
The list of winners of the Nandi Award for Best Book on Telugu Cinema since 1995:
Nandagopal, was an Indian film journalist, editor and critic. He was married to Kalpana Devi who is also of Repalle and the couple have three children- Nadella Gopichand, Nadella Pratyagatma and Koduru Kavitha. As a prolific publisher, with more than forty years of experience. Nandagopal was involved in film journalism workshops, and was associated with L. V. Prasad, B.Nagi Reddy, and Aluri Chakrapani. He was even closely associated with N.T.R. during his political and film phase, where Nandagopal used to be beside him all the time. He was awarded two Nandi awards given by the State Government of Andhra Pradesh. He was even designated as the Censor Board Of India President for 12 years.
