Gadde Rajendra Prasad (born 19 July 1956) is an Indian actor who predominantly works in

Telugu films Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Telugu language, widely spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Based in Film Nagar, Hyderabad, Telug ...

. He is a recipient of four

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

state

Nandi Awards The Nandi Awards are annual awards presented by the Government of Andhra Pradesh to recognise excellence in Telugu cinema, theatre, and television, as well as lifetime achievements in Indian cinema. The awards are named after the monolithic ...

, three SIIMA Awards, and three

Santosham Film Awards Santosham Film Awards, currently known as Santosham South Indian Film Awards are one of the most popular awards given for Tollywood films and Telugu Music Artistes. Background The awards first began in 2004 by the annual ''Santosham'' magazine ...

. Prasad made his debut in 1977 with '' Sneham'' and gained recognition with '' Manchu Pallaki'' (1982). He then went on to star in several successful comedy films such as ''

Rendu Rellu Aaru ''Rendu Rellu Aaru'' ( stylised as ''2 × 2 = 6'') is a 1986 Indian Telugu-language comedy film, produced by Gogineni.Subba Rao under Vijaya Creations banner and directed by Jandhyala. It stars Rajendra Prasad, Chandra Mohan, Rajani, Preethi ...

'' (1986), '' Ladies Tailor'' (1986), ''Aha Naa-Pellanta!'' (1987), ''

Appula Appa Rao ''Appula Appa Rao'' () is a 1992 Telugu-language comedy film directed by E. V. V. Satyanarayana. The film stars Rajendra Prasad and Shobana, with music composed by Rajan–Nagendra. Released on 24 January 1992, the film became a blockbuster ...

'' (1992), and '' Mayalodu'' (1993). He received a

Nandi Award for Best Actor The Nandi Award for Best Actor was commissioned by the Nandi Awards committee in 1977. The winner is awarded a "Silver Nandi", "Sri Rajendra Prasad Gold Medal", cash award and a commendation certificate. Venkatesh has won the most Best Actor a ...

for '' Erra Mandaram'' (1991) and '' Aa Naluguru'' (2004). He has also received an

Honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

from

Andhra University Andhra University is a public university located in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. It was established in 1926. It is graded as an A++ institution by NAAC receiving a score of 3.74 on a scale of 4. History King Vikram Deo Verma, the Mah ...

. In 2012, he starred in the medical thriller ''

Dream A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensation (psychology), sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around ...

'', for which he won the Royal Reel Award at the Canada International Film Festival. He is fondly called "Nata Kireeti" and has been honored with the title "Hasya Kireeti" by the Telugu Alliances of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, in

Mississauga Mississauga is a Canadian city in the province of Ontario. Situated on the north-western shore of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, it borders Toronto (Etobicoke) to the east, Brampton to the north, Milton to the northwest, ...

. He was also honored to walk the green carpet at the IIFA film festival held in 2009, marking his performance in the English-language film, '' Quick Gun Murugun''.

Early life

Prasad was born into a middle-class family, to Gadde Venkata Narayana and Manikyamba, in Nimmakuru,

. His parents hailed from Dondapadu, Gudivada mandal,

Krishna district Krishna district is a district in the Coastal Andhra region in Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, with Machilipatnam as its administrative headquarters. It is surrounded on the East by Bay of Bengal, West by Guntur district, Guntur, Bapatla distric ...

.Eenadu Telugu newspaper daily, 19 July 2016 His father was a teacher. Prasad graduated with a diploma in

ceramic engineering Ceramic engineering is the science and technology of creating objects from inorganic, non-metallic materials. This is done either by the action of heat, or at lower temperatures using precipitation reactions from high-purity chemical solutions ...

before entering the film industry. He joined a company but had to resign from the job because he was too young. After witnessing the shooting of '' Tatamma Kala'', he aspired to join the industry. Upon the suggestion of brothers N.T.R and N. Trivikrama Rao, he joined an acting school.

Personal life

Prasad is married to Vijaya Chamundeswari. She is the niece and adoptive daughter of film actress

Rama Prabha 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 Cin ...

. They have a son and a daughter. His daughter Gayatri died on 4 October 2024 due to heart attack.

Career

Early career (1977 – 1985)

Prasad made his debut as an actor on the silver screen with the film ''Sneham'' (1977), directed by Bapu. Initially, he worked as a dubbing artist and played many supporting roles. He played a supporting role in the film '' Ramarajyamlo Bheemaraju'', starring

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

, which fetched him a chance in 14 films.

Breakthrough as a lead & comedy actor (1985 – 2004)

He was identified by director

Vamsy Vamsy (born Nallamilli Bavireddy) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, littérateur, composer, poet, producer, actor and cartoonist known for his works in Telugu cinema, and television. He got breakthrough with ''Sitaara'' (1984), which wo ...

to play a lead role in his film, '' Preminchu Pelladu''. He rose to fame with

's '' Ladies Tailor''. He continued to act in supporting roles while also playing lead roles. In a career of over 45 years, he acted in more than 200

and few

Tamil films Tamil cinema is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Tamil language, the main spoken language in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is nicknamed Kollywood, a portmanteau of the names Kodambakkam, a Chenn ...

. Prasad has been called a ''great comedy actor'' and is fondly called the ''King of Comedy'' and ''Natakireeti'' in

. His collaboration with the director

Jandhyala Jandhyala Subrahmanya Sastry (14 January 1951 – 19 June 2001), known mononymously as Jandhyala, was an Indian film director, screenwriter, and playwright known for his work in Telugu cinema and Telugu theatre, theatre. Popularly referred to a ...

in '' Aha Naa Pellanta'' established him as an overnight star. He also made successful collaborations with directors

, E. V. V. Satyanarayana, S. V. Krishna Reddy and

Relangi Narasimha Rao Relangi Narasimha Rao (born 30 September 1951) is an Indian film director and screenwriter who predominantly works in Cinema of Andhra Pradesh, Telugu cinema. He is well known for his comedy films, especially his collaborations with actors Chan ...

. Notably, Relangi made 32 films (out of 70 as a director) with Prasad.

Critically acclaimed roles (2004 – 2011)

One major role which garnered him a lot of accolades was in the movie '' Aa Naluguru,'' for which he won the State

Nandi Award The Nandi Awards are annual awards presented by the Government of Andhra Pradesh to recognise excellence in Telugu cinema, theatre, and television, as well as lifetime achievements in Indian cinema. The awards are named after the monolithic s ...

for the second time in his career. Critically acclaimed films such as '' Mee Sreyobhilashi'' and '' Onamalu'' made him one of the most promising actors in Telugu film industry. He acted as

Lord Hanuman Hanuman (; , ), also known as Maruti, Bajrangabali, and Anjaneya, is a deity in Hinduism, revered as a divine ''vanara'', and a devoted companion of the deity Rama. Central to the ''Ramayana'', Hanuman is celebrated for his unwavering devotio ...

in the blockbuster multi-star film ''

Devullu ''Devullu'' ( ''Gods'') is a 2000 Telugu-language supernatural film directed by Kodi Ramakrishna. It stars Prithvi, Raasi, Master Nandan, Baby Nitya, while Suman, Srikanth, Rajendra Prasad, Ramya Krishna, Laya were in supporting roles and ...

''. In 2009, Prasad played the titular role in the English-language film, '' Quick Gun Murugun''. The film was screened at the London Film Festival, the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, the New York Asian Film Festival and at

The Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, and includes over 200,000 works of arc ...

, New York.

Supporting roles (2011 – present)

He played remarkable characters as supporting artist in films such as '' Julai'', ''

Aagadu ''Aagadu'' () is a 2014 Indian Telugu-language action comedy film directed by Srinu Vaitla. Written by Anil Ravipudi, Upendra Madhav and Praveen Varma, the film was jointly produced by Ram Achanta, Gopi Achanta and Anil Sunkara under their ban ...

'', '' S/O Satyamurthy'', '' Srimanthudu'' and ''

Nannaku Prematho ''Nannaku Prematho'' () is a 2016 Indian Telugu-language action drama film written and directed by Sukumar and produced by B. V. S. N. Prasad under Sri Venkateswara Cine Chitra, Bhogavalli Bapineedu and Reliance Entertainment. The film, se ...

'' as well as elderly characters in films like '' Dagudumoota Dandakore''. Telugu people who emigrated abroad would take Prasad's movies along with them, such was the popularity and impact of his films on at least two generations of Telugu people. The then prime minister

P. V. Narasimha Rao Pamulaparthi Venkata Narasimha Rao (28 June 1921 – 23 December 2004) was an Indian independence activist, lawyer, and statesman from the Indian National Congress who served as the prime minister of India from 1991 to 1996. He was the first p ...

too was a huge fan of Prasad. In 2015, he was elected President of Movie Artist Association (MAA), over actress

Jayasudha Jayasudha Kapoor (born Sujatha Nidudavolu), known mononyomusly as Jayasudha 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 ...

. His recent film, '' Senapathi'', is currently streaming on '' Aha.''

Awards

;

(1991) for '' Erra Mandaram'' *

Nandi Special Jury Award The Nandi Special Jury Award is given by the state government as part of its annual Nandi Awards for Telugu films since 1981. See also * Nandi Awards * Cinema of Andhra Pradesh References {{DEFAULTSORT:Nandi Special Jury Award Speci ...

(1994) for ''

Madam Madam (), or madame ( or ), is a polite and formal form of address for Woman, women in the English language, often contracted to ma'am (pronounced in American English and this way but also in British English). The term derives from the French la ...

'' *

(2004) for '' Aa Naluguru'' *

Nandi Award for Best Character Actor The '' S. V. Ranga Rao'' Nandi Award for Best Character Actor winners since 1995: Winners References {{DEFAULTSORT:Nandi Award For Best Character Actor Character Actor A character actor is an actor known for playing unusual, eccentri ...

(2014) for '' Tommy'' ;

South Indian International Movie Awards The South Indian International Movie Awards (SIIMA Awards) rewards the artistic and technical achievements of the South Indian film industry. It was launched in 2012 by Vishnu Vardhan Induri and Brinda Prasad Adusimilli to appreciate and hono ...

* SIIMA Award for Best Supporting Actor (Telugu) (2013) for '' Julai'' at 2nd SIIMA * SIIMA Award for Best Supporting Actor (Telugu) (2016) for '' Srimanthudu'' at 5th SIIMA * SIIMA Award for Best Supporting Actor (Telugu) (2019) for ''

Mahanati ''Mahanati'' () is a 2018 Indian Telugu cinema, Telugu-language biographical film, biographical drama (film and television), drama film based on the life of actress Savitri (actress), Savitri. It is written and directed by Nag Ashwin, and prod ...

'' at 8th SIIMA ;

CineMAA Awards The CineMAA Awards are presented annually by the Maa TV Group to honour artistic and technical excellence of professionals in Telugu cinema. The awards were introduced in 2004. The CineMAA Awards are voted for by both the public and a committee ...

* CineMAA Award for Best Outstanding Actor – '' Onamalu'' (2013)

Santosham Film Awards Santosham Film Awards, currently known as Santosham South Indian Film Awards are one of the most popular awards given for Tollywood films and Telugu Music Artistes. Background The awards first began in 2004 by the annual ''Santosham'' magazine ...

* Best Supporting Actor for ''

'' at 17th Santosham Film Awards 2019 *Santosham Akkineni Nageswara Rao Smarakam Award at 16th Santosham Film Awards 2018 *Best Supporting Actor for '' Srimanthudu at'' 14th Santosham Film Awards 2016

Telugu Book of Records Awardee

* For continuously 10 years published as a Cover page picture on Ballem Cinema Directory 2016.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Prasad, Rajendra Living people 1956 births Indian male film actors Andhra University alumni Telugu male actors Telugu comedians Nandi Award winners Actors from Krishna district Male actors from Andhra Pradesh 20th-century Indian male actors Indian male comedians 21st-century Indian male actors Male actors in Telugu cinema South Indian International Movie Awards winners CineMAA Awards winners Santosham Film Awards winners