Venkatesh (actor)

In this Telugu name, the surname is Daggubati.

Daggubati Venkatesh (born 13 December 1960) is an Indian actor known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema and a few hindi films. Venkatesh debuted with the 1986 film Kaliyuga Pandavulu for which he won his first Nandi Award. In a career spanning over 35 years, he starred in many successful films, establishing himself as one of the top actors of Telugu cinema.^[2] Venkatesh won five Nandi Awards for Best Actor^[3] and six Filmfare Awards South in various categories.

Venkatesh
Venkatesh at the opening ceremony of the 2013 Celebrity Cricket League season
Born	Daggubati Venkatesh (1960-12-13) 13 December 1960 (age 62)^[1] Madras (present-day Chennai), Tamil Nadu, India
Other names	Venky
Alma mater	Loyola College, Chennai Monterey Institute of International Studies (MBA)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1986–present
Spouse	Neeraja ​ (m. 1985)​
Children	4
Parent	D. Ramanaidu (father)
Relatives	D. Suresh Babu (brother) Rana Daggubati (nephew) Naga Chaitanya (nephew)
Family	see Daggubati–Akkineni family

Early in his career, Venkatesh was starred in K. Viswanath's Swarnakamalam (1988) featured in the Indian panorama section of the 12th IFFI,^[4] the Asia Pacific Film Festival and the Ann Arbor Film Festival.^[5][6][7] In the following years, he starred in blockbusters such as the romance film Prema (1989), and the action thriller Bobbili Raja.^[8][9] A year later, he starred in Ram Gopal Varma's road movie Kshana Kshanam featured at the Fribourg Festival, it went on to gather a cult following.^[10][11][12] He played an autistic villager in the melodrama Chanti (1992).^[9] In 1993, Venkatesh made his debut in Hindi cinema with Anari, a remake of his film Chanti. Later, he also featured in Taqdeerwala (1995).^[13]

Venkatesh co-owns Suresh Productions;^[14] one of the largest film production companies in India, under which he acted in several films.^[15][16] He is also the mentor of the Telugu Warriors, representing Tollywood in the Celebrity Cricket League.^[17]

Early life

Venkatesh was born on 13 December 1960 in a Telugu family to film producer and former Member of Parliament, D. Ramanaidu and Rajeshwari in Madras (present-day Chennai), India. He has an elder brother Suresh Babu, who runs Suresh Productions, and a younger sister Lakshmi.^[18]

Venkatesh did his schooling in Don Bosco, Egmore,^[19] Chennai and graduated in commerce from Loyola College, Chennai.^[20][21] He got his MBA from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, US.^[18] After his return to India, he wanted to get into film production but instead, became an Indian actor in Telugu cinema.^[22]

Career

Further information: Venkatesh filmography

1986–1989: Debut and early career

Venkatesh first appeared as a child actor in the 1971 film Prema Nagar. His first film as a full-fledged lead was K. Raghavendra Rao-directed Kaliyuga Pandavulu (1986), alongside Khushbu Sundar which was a debut for both of them. The film won him a Nandi Special Jury Award.^[2]

1996–2012: Critical and Commercial success

In 1996, he portrayed an honest lawyer in Dharma Chakram, which won him both Nandi Award and Filmfare Award South.^[3][23] Later that year, he played a husband struggling between two wives in E. V. V. Satyanarayana-directed comedy drama Intlo Illalu Vantintlo Priyuralu, which was also a successful venture.^[24] In Ganesh (1998), he played a person fighting against the ills in the Indian public healthcare system. The following year, Venkatesh starred in the romantic action film Preminchukundam Raa. The film, which was one of the first portrayals of factionalism in Rayalaseema region, was a big commercial success.^[25] His 1999 drama film Raja, where he plays a small time thief who is reformed by his love is also well received by the audience.^[24] Following this, he established himself as one of top actors in Telugu cinema.^[26]

 

In 2001, Venkatesh starred in the romantic comedy film Nuvvu Naaku Nachav which was a critical and commercial success.^[27] The success continued with Malliswari (2004), in his second collaboration with director K. Vijaya Bhaskar after Nuvvu Naaku Nachav.^[24] In 2007, he starred in two films, Aadavari Matalaku Arthale Verule and Tulasi, both of which grossed over ₹30 crore at the box office.^[9] In the following years, Venkatesh appeared in several films, including Chintakayala Ravi (2008), Namo Venkatesa (2010) and Bodyguard (2012).^[28][29][30]

2013–present: Multi-starrers

 

Venkatesh snapped at CCL.

In 2013, Venkatesh co-starred alongside Mahesh Babu in the critically acclaimed drama film, Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu.^[31][32] The film was the first Telugu multi-starrer film in recent decades, after which Venkatesh went on to feature in other multi-starrer films such as Masala (2013), Gopala Gopala (2015) and F2: Fun and Frustration (2019).^[33] F2 grossed over ₹127 crore and ended up as one of the highest-grossing Telugu film of that year.^[34][35]

Venkatesh's performance in Drushyam (2014) received several accolades from the critics.^[36] He portrayed a strict boxing coach in the Sudha Kongara-directed sports drama Guru in 2017.^[37]

Later in 2019, he starred in Venky Mama, alongside his nephew Naga Chaitanya. The film was a profitable venture, grossing more than ₹72 crore worldwide.^[38] In the same year, he dubbed in Telugu for the Genie, in Alladin. His 2021 film Narappa was released on Amazon Prime, which marked his first direct-to-OTT release. In 2022 the 2nd part of the Fun and Frustration Series was released called F3. He starred alongside Varun Tej in this comedy masterclass°. The film received good reviews from critics and proved to be a Family Movie immediately.^[39]

Endorsements

• On 24 April 2010, he signed with Manappuram General Finance and Leasing Ltd as their brand ambassador for Andhra Pradesh.^[40]
• He opened Ramraj Cotton Company branch in Ameerpet as a brand ambassador for the company.^[41]

Personal life

Venkatesh married Neeraja in 1985 and the couple has four children—three daughters and one son.^[42][43] His eldest daughter Aashritha married Vinayak Reddy, the grandson of R. Surender Reddy, the chairman of Hyderabad Race Club.^[44] Venkatesh's sister Lakshmi was married to actor Nagarjuna, and the couple has a son, Naga Chaitanya.^[45]

Awards and nominations

Year	Film	Award	Category	Result	Ref.
1986	Kaliyuga Pandavulu	Nandi Awards	Best Male Debut (Special Jury Award)	Won	^[46]
		Filmfare Awards South	Best Actor – Telugu	Nominated
1988	Brahma Puthrudu			Won	^[47]^[48]
	Swarna Kamalam	Nandi Awards	Special Jury Award	Won	^[46]
1989	Prema		Best Actor	Won	^[46]
		Filmfare Awards South	Best Actor – Telugu	Nominated
1990	Bobbili Raja			Nominated
1991	Kshana Kshanam			Nominated
1992	Chanti			Nominated
1993	Abbaigaru			Nominated
1994	Muddula Priyudu			Nominated
1995	Dharma Chakram	Nandi Awards	Best Actor	Won	^[46]
1996		Filmfare Awards South	Best Actor – Telugu	Won	^[49]
	Sahasa Veerudu Sagara Kanya			Nominated
1997	Preminchukundam Raa			Nominated
1998	Ganesh	Nandi Awards	Best Actor	Won	^[46]
		Filmfare Awards South	Best Actor – Telugu	Won	^[50]
1999	Raja			Nominated
2000	Kalisundam Raa	Nandi Awards	Best Actor	Won	^[46]
		Filmfare Awards South	Special Award	Won	^[23]
	Jayam Manade Raa		Best Actor – Telugu	Won	^[23]^[51]
2005	Sankranthi		Best Actor	Nominated
		Santosham Film Awards	Best Actor – Telugu	Won
2007	Adavari Matalaku Ardhale Verule	Nandi Awards	Best Actor	Won
		Santosham Film Awards		Won
		Filmfare Awards South	Best Actor – Telugu	Nominated
2010	Eenadu		Best Supporting Actor – Telugu	Nominated
2014	Masala			Nominated
2015	Drushyam		Best Actor – Telugu	Nominated
		TSR – TV9 National Film Awards	Best Actor (Jury)	Won	^[52]
		South Indian International Movie Awards	Best Actor	Nominated
2016	Gopala Gopala	TSR – TV9 National Film Awards		Won
2017	Guru	Filmfare Awards South	Best Actor – Telugu	Nominated
			Best Actor – Critics	Won

References

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External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Venkatesh Daggubati.

• Venkatesh Daggubati at IMDb