Venkatesh (actor)

In this Telugu name, the surname is Daggubati.

Daggubati Venkatesh (born 13 December 1960) is an Indian actor known for his work predominantly in Telugu cinema, and a few Hindi language films.^[2] Early in his career, Venkatesh starred in box-office hits^[3][4] such as the romance Prema (1989), the action drama Bobbili Raja (1990), and the action adventure Kshana Kshanam (1991) which featured at the Fribourg Festival and went on to gather a cult following.^[5][6][7]

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

In a career spanning 37 years, Venkatesh received acclaim for his performances as a painter in Swarnakamalam (1988) which featured in the Indian panorama section of the 12th IFFI,^[8] the Asia Pacific Film Festival and the Ann Arbor Film Festival;^[9][10][11] a coolie in Coolie No. 1 (1991), an eccentric cop in Surya IPS (1991) and Gharshana (2004), an autistic villager in the melodrama Chanti (1992),^[4] a journalist in the social drama Ganesh (1998), an attorney in Sathruvu (1991) and Dharma Chakram (1996), a farmer in Narappa (2021), in the romantic dramas Preminchukundam Raa (1997), Premante Idera (1998), Raja (1999), Kalisundam Raa (2000), Nuvvu Naaku Nachav (2001), Vasantam (2003), Malliswari (2004), and Aadavari Matalaku Arthale Verule (2007), and in the crime thrillers Drushyam (2014); and Drushyam 2 (2021). He also starred in the Hindi language Anari (1993), Taqdeerwala (1995), and Rana Naidu (2023).^[12]

Venkatesh received five state Nandi Awards for Best Actor,^[13] and six Filmfare Awards South in various categories. 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 actor.^[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 the Nandi Award and Filmfare Award South.^[13][23] Later that year, he played a husband struggling between two wives in the E. V. V. Satyanarayana directed hit comedy drama Intlo Illalu Vantintlo Priyuralu.^[24] In Ganesh (1998), he played a person fighting the ills of the Indian public healthcare system. The following year, he 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 was 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 Nuvvu Naaku Nachav which was a critical and commercial success.^[27] The success continued with Malliswari (2004), 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.^[4] 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 Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu.^[31][32] The film was the one of the first Telugu major multi-starrer films after many years. Subsequently, Venkatesh went on to feature in other multi-starrers 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's 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 released.^[39] In 2022, the sequel to F2, F3: Fun and Frustration released to a fairly positive reception from critics and audiences.

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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2. "వెంక‌టేశ్ 'విక్ట‌రీ'కి 34 ఏళ్లు". Sakshi (in Telugu). 14 August 2020. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
3. Movies, iQlik. "Bobbili Raja Telugu Movie Review Venkatesh Divya Bharathi Vani". iQlikmovies. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
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5. Rajadhyaksha, Ashish; Willemen, Paul (10 July 2014). Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-94325-7 – via Google Books.
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43. "Venkatesh Daggubati's elder daughter Aashritha gets engaged, wedding date revealed – details inside". www.timesnownews.com. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
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45. Sharma, Bhavana (14 March 2020). "Did you know who Naga Chaitanya's step-father and half-brother are?". IB Times. Retrieved 14 March 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Venkatesh Daggubati.

• Venkatesh Daggubati at IMDb