Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao, often referred to by his initials NTR, was an Indian actor, filmmaker and politician who served as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh for seven years over three terms. He is considered one of the greatest, and most influential actors and filmmakers in the history 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).
Veturi Sundararama Murthy, known mononymously by his surname Veturi, was an Indian poet, lyricist and journalist who is popular for writing Telugu songs. His career in Telugu cinema spanned more than four decades.
Hema Malini is an Indian actress, director, producer, and politician who is currently serving as a member of the Lok Sabha from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), representing Mathura constituency since 2014. She was a member of the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka from 2011 to 2012, subsequent to her nomination to that chamber from 2003 to 2009 as a member of the BJP. Primarily known for her work in Hindi films, she has starred in both comic and dramatic roles, and is one of the most popular and successful leading actresses of mainstream Hindi cinema.
Nandamuri Balakrishna, widely known as Balakrishna and Balayya is an Indian actor, producer and politician known for his works in Telugu cinema. Balakrishna is an elected member of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly from Hindupuram constituency since 2014. The sixth son of Legendary actor and former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh N. T. Rama Rao, Balakrishna made his debut as a child artist at the age of 14 with the film Tatamma Kala (1974). Balakrishna is a recipient of three state Nandi Awards and one South Indian International Movie Award. In 2012, Balakrishna was the chief guest at the 43rd IFFI. Currently He serves as the Chairman of Basavatarakam Indo-American Cancer Hospital and Research Center in Hyderabad.
Ramesh Sippy is an Indian film director, actor and producer in Hindi cinema. He is particularly known for being director in Sholay (1975), which is regarded as one of the most influential film in Northern India ever made. The Government of India honoured him with Padma Shri in 2013.
Jaya Prada Nahata is an Indian actress and politician known for her works majorly in Telugu cinema in addition to Hindi and Tamil films in late '70s, '80s and early '90s. Jayaprada is the recipient of three Filmfare Awards South and has starred in many Telugu and Hindi films along with several Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam, Bengali and Marathi films. She left the film industry at the peak of her career, as she joined the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in 1994 and entered politics. She was a Member of Parliament (MP) from Rampur, Uttar Pradesh from 2004 to 2014.
Vijayashanti is an Indian actress, producer and politician. In a film career spanning 40 years, she has acted in 187 feature films in a variety of roles in various languages predominantly in Telugu films, in addition toTamil, Hindi, Kannada, and Malayalam films. She is widely referred as the "Lady Superstar", "Lady Amitabh", and "The Action Queen of Indian Cinema", She won the National Film Award for Best Actress for her work as a female cop in Kartavyam for depicting both aggression and feminity with balance and restraint (1990). She is a recipient of several accolades, including four Andhra Pradesh state Nandi Awards for Best Actress, seven Filmfare Awards South together with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003, and the Kalaimamani Award from Tamil Nadu Government.
Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao Jr., also known as Jr. N.T.R. or Tarak, is an Indian actor who primarily works in Telugu cinema. One of the highest paid Telugu film actors, Rama Rao has won several accolades, including two Filmfare Awards, two state Nandi Awards, and four CineMAA Awards. Since 2012, he has been featured in Forbes India's Celebrity 100 list.
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.
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.
Vanisri is an Indian actress known for her works predominantly in Telugu, Tamil, and Kannada films. In a film career spanning 40 years, she has received three Filmfare Awards South, the Nandi Awards and the Tamil Nadu State Film Award.
The Raghupathi Venkaiah Naidu Award is an award issued by the Indian state government of Andhra Pradesh, to recognise lifetime achievements in Telugu cinema. The award was introduced in 1981 in honour of Raghupathi Venkaiah Naidu, one of India's film pioneers regarded as the "father of Telugu cinema". The winner is presented a Golden Nandi, a gold medal, a citation and a cash prize of ₹50,000 (US$630) at the Nandi Awards functions.
Sunitha Upadrashta is an Indian playback singer and voice actor who primarily works in Telugu films. She is a recipient of nine Nandi Awards and two Filmfare Awards South in various categories. She also received a National Award from All India Radio under light music category when she was 15 years old. She received her first Nandi award in the year 1999 and bagged Nandi Awards in a row for the years 2002 to 2006 and again for the years 2010 to 2012. She was also honored with Lata Mangeshkar Best Singer Award for 2011 by the Government of Andhra Pradesh.
Kodi Ramakrishna was an Indian film director, screenwriter and actor. One of the most prolific directors of Telugu cinema, he directed over 100 feature films in a variety of genres. He is known as a celluloid visionary who introduced high-end visual effects to the South Indian film industry through his supernatural fantasy films. In 2012, he received the state Raghupathi Venkaiah Award for his lifetime contribution to Telugu cinema.
The ANR National Award was instituted by the Akkineni International foundation in the honor of Akkineni Nageswara Rao. The award was given annually to recognize people for their lifetime achievements and contributions to the Indian film industry. ANR National Award was first awarded to veteran Bollywood actor Dev Anand in 2006.
Aditya 369 is a 1991 Indian Telugu-language science fiction film written and directed by Singeetam Srinivasa Rao. It is considered to be the first time travel film made in Indian cinema. The film stars Nandamuri Balakrishna and Mohini while Amrish Puri, Tinnu Anand, and Suthivelu play supporting roles. The music was composed by Ilaiyaraaja and Jandhyala wrote the dialogues. The film was produced by S. Anitha Krishna on Sridevi Movies banner with S. P. Balasubrahmanyam as the presenter. Upon release, the film received critical acclaim and was a commercial success. It received two Nandi Awards. Aditya 369 is considered a landmark film in the science fiction genre in Indian cinema. The film explored dystopian and post-apocalyptic themes in a satirical manner.
Sripathi Panditaradhyula Balasubrahmanyam, shortened as SPB, was an Indian playback singer, television presenter, actor, music composer, dubbing artist, and film producer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest Indian singers of all time. He predominantly worked in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, and Hindi films and sang in a total of 16 languages.
Bhawana Somaaya is an Indian film journalist, critic, author and historian. She has been honoured with the Padma Shri in the year 2017 by the President of India Pranab Mukherjee. Starting her career as film reporter in 1978, she went to work with several film magazines, through the 1980s and 1990s. Eventually, she remained editor of Screen, a leading film magazine, from 2000 to 2007. She has written over 13 books on history of Hindi cinema and biographies of Bollywood stars, including Salaam Bollywood (2000), The Story So Far (2003) and her trilogy, Amitabh Bachchan – The Legend (1999), Bachchanalia – The Films And Memorabilia of Amitabh Bachchan (2009) and Amitabh Lexicon (2011).
Doondeswara Rao Pothina, more popularly known as Doondi, was an Indian film producer. He was described as one of the pioneer film personalities of the 1960s Telugu film industry. Doondi produced and directed about 29 films in Telugu, Kannada, and Hindi. In 2005, he also served as the Nandi Awards Committee Chairman.
