Daggubati Venkatesh

Daggubati Venkatesh (born 13 December 1960) is an Indian actor and film producer known for his work predominantly in Telugu cinema. Venkatesh has a prolific career spanning over 37 years and is known for portraying a variety of characters. He has received many accolades including six Filmfare Awards and five Nandi Awards.

Venkatesh made his debut in 1986 with the commercially successful '' Kaliyuga Pandavulu''. He achieved stardom with box-office hits such as '' Srinivasa Kalyanam'' (1987), '' Brahma Puthrudu'' (1988), '' Prema'' (1989), '' Dhruva Nakshatram'' (1989), '' Bobbili Raja'' (1990), and ''Kshana Kshanam'' (1991), the latter of which featured at the Fribourg Festival and went on to gather a cult following.

Venkatesh received further acclaim for his notable performances as a painter in ''Swarnakamalam'' (1988), which featured in the Indian panorama section of the 12th IFFI, an attorney in both ''Sathruvu'' (1991) and ''Dharma Chakram'' (1996), a coolie in '' Coolie No. 1'' (1991), an eccentric cop in both ''Surya IPS'' (1991) and ''Gharshana'' (2004), an autistic villager in '' Chanti'' (1992),, in the romantic dramas: ''Pavitra Bandham'' (1996), ''Preminchukundam Raa'' (1997), ''Premante Idera'' (1998), ''Raja'' (1999), ''Kalisundam Raa'' (2000), '' Nuvvu Naaku Nachav'' (2001), '' Vasantam'' (2003), '' Malliswari'' (2004), ''Aadavari Matalaku Arthale Verule'' (2007), and ''Bodyguard'' (2012), in the family dramas: '' Suryavamsam'' (1998), ''Sankranti'' (2005) and ''Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu'' (2013), a journalist in ''Ganesh'' (1998), in the action dramas: '' Jayam Manadera'' (2000), ''Lakshmi'' (2006), ''Tulasi'' (2007) and '' Venky Mama'' (2021), in the comedies: '' Chintakayala Ravi'' (2008), ''Namo Venkatesa'' (2010), '' F2'' (2019), '' F3'' (2022), and '' Sankranthiki Vasthunam'' (2025), in the crime thrillers '' Eenaadu'' (2009), '' Drushyam'' (2014) and ''Drushyam 2'' (2021), an atheist in '' Gopala Gopala'' (2015), a boxing coach in ''Guru'' (2017), and a farmer in '' Narappa'' (2021).

Venkatesh also starred in Hindi language works such as '' Anari'' (1993), '' Taqdeerwala'' (1995), and '' Rana Naidu'' (2023). In addition to acting, he co-owns Suresh Productions, one of the largest film production companies in India, under which he acted in several films. He is also the mentor of the ''Telugu Warriors'', representing Tollywood in the Celebrity Cricket League.

Early life

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

Venkatesh did his schooling in Don Bosco, Egmore, Chennai and graduated in commerce from Loyola College, Chennai. He got his MBA from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, USA. After his return to India, he wanted to get into film production but instead became an actor.

Career

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.

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. 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''. 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. 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. Following this, he established himself as one of top actors in Telugu cinema.

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

2013–present: Multi-starrers and experimental roles

In 2013, Venkatesh co-starred alongside Mahesh Babu in the critically acclaimed drama ''Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu''. The film was 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). ''F2'' grossed over and ended up as one of the highest-grossing Telugu films of 2019.

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

Later in 2019, he starred in '' Venky Mama'', alongside his nephew Naga Chaitanya. The film was a profitable venture, grossing more than worldwide. 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. In 2022, the sequel to ''F2'', '' F3: Fun and Frustration'', released to a fairly positive reception from the critics and audience. In 2024, Venkatesh made his first ever pan-Indian film debut with '' Saindhav'', directed by Sailesh Kolanu. However, upon release, it opened to a mixed-to-negative reception from the audience and subsequently became a huge box-office bomb.

In 2025, he reunited with Anil Ravipudi and Dil Raju on the comedy, '' Sankranthiki Vasthunam''. Released during the Sankranthi season, it opened to generally positive reviews and went to become a huge money spinner, becoming the highest-grossing solo film in Venkatesh' career and the highest-grossing comedy in Telugu cinema.

Endorsements

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

Personal life

Venkatesh married Neeraja in 1985 and the couple has four children—three daughters and one son. His eldest daughter, Aashritha, married Vinayak Reddy, the grandson of R. Surender Reddy, the chairman of Hyderabad Race Club. He is also the uncle of actors Rana Daggubati and Naga Chaitanya.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Venkatesh
Venkatesh
Living people
Telugu male actors
People from Prakasam district
Male actors from Chennai
Male actors in Telugu cinema
Indian male film actors
20th-century Indian male actors
21st-century Indian male actors
Filmfare Awards South winners
Nandi Award winners
Don Bosco schools alumni
Loyola College, Chennai alumni
Male actors from Andhra Pradesh
1960 births
South Indian International Movie Awards winners
Santosham Film Awards winners