Jagapathi Babu

Veeramachaneni Jagapathi Chowdary (born 12 February 1962), professionally known as Jagapathi Babu (), is an Indian actor known for his works in Telugu cinema. He has also appeared in Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, and Hindi films. Babu has appeared in 170 feature films, and has received four Filmfare Awards and seven state Nandi Awards.

He has worked with notable directors like Kodi Ramakrishna, S. V. Krishna Reddy, Ram Gopal Varma, Krishna Vamsi, E. V. V. Satyanarayana, Gunasekhar, Chandra Sekhar Yeleti, Siva, A. M. Rathnam, K. Raghavendra Rao, Radha Mohan, Mohan Raja, J. D. Chakravarthy, Boyapati Srinu, Trivikram Srinivas, Vysakh, K. S. Ravikumar, Sukumar and Prashanth Neel.

Early life

Babu was born on 12 February 1962 in Machilipatnam to producer-director V. B. Rajendra Prasad. He was brought up in Chennai, Tamil Nadu before working in Telugu cinema. He married Lakshmi and has two daughters.

Career

1989–2013: Lead roles

Babu made his lead debut in Telugu with the movie ''Simha Swapnam'' (1989) which was produced by his father and directed by V. Madhusudhana Rao. That same year, he starred in '' Adavilo Abhimanyudu''. His first commercial success came with '' Peddarikam'' released in 1992. He had his breakthrough in the form of ''Gaayam'' directed by Ram Gopal Varma in the year 1993. In 1994, with the super hit film '' Subhalagnam'', he reached family audience. He won the Nandi Award for Best Actor in 1996 for his role in the movie '' Maavichiguru'' directed by S V Krishna Reddy.

1997 saw hit films including ''Subhakankshalu'' and '' Pelli Pandiri''. In 1998, he won the Nandi Award for Best Supporting Actor for the film '' Anthahpuram''. In 2000, he won the Nandi Best Actor Award for his performance in the thriller '' Manoharam''. In 2003–05, he did runway hit films like '' Kabaddi Kabaddi'', '' Athade Oka Sainyam'', '' Pedababu'' and ''Anukokunda Oka Roju''. In 2006, he appeared in '' Samanyudu'' and '' Pellaina Kothalo''. He received the Nandi Best Supporting Actor Award for the second time in the year 2007 for his role in the film '' Lakshyam'' in addition to a won Filmfare Award. In 2011, he received the Kala Bhushana Award for his contribution to cinema by TSR Lalitha Kala Parishat.

His first Tamil movie was '' Madrasi'', and in 2012, he appeared as the antagonist in Tamil film '' Thaandavam''. He played the lead role in ''Jai Bolo Telangana'', which won five Nandi Awards. In 2012, he debuted in the Kannada film '' Bachchan'' as a cop.

2014–present: Supporting roles

Since 2014, Babu decided to play antagonistic and supporting roles. He appeared in Nandamuri Balakrishna-starrer ''Legend'' (2014), where played an antagonist for the first time. His performance as Jitendra won many accolades. In the same year, he played a negative role opposite Rajinikanth in '' Lingaa''. In 2015, he played Mahesh Babu's father in '' Srimanthudu''. In 2016, Babu's role as a London-based billionaire in Sukumar-directed ''Nannaku Prematho'', starring Jr NTR, was also appreciated. He played the antagonist in '' Ism'' and ''Jaguar''. He also played opposite Mohanlal in Malayalam film, ''Pulimurugan''. In 2017, he played Naga Chaitanya's father in '' Rarandoi Veduka Chudham''.

In the 2018 film ''Rangasthalam,'' also directed by Sukumar, Babu played an oppressive president of the eponymous village. Grossing more than 2 billion, ''Rangasthalam'' was the highest grossing Telugu of that year. Alongside this, he played a Bangladeshi-terrorist in '' Goodachari'', which became a sleeper hit. His antagonist role in the Trivikram Srinivas-directed film '' Aravinda Sametha Veera Raghava'' is termed as one of finest performances of his career. In 2019, his notable works were ''Maharshi'' along with a crucial role in ''Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy''. In 2023, he played one of the villains in the Hindi film '' Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan'', starring Salman Khan and Venkatesh.

He also played the role of Rajamannar in the blockbuster film '' Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire'' directed by Prashanth Neel in 2023.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

Filmfare Awards

Nandi Awards

SIIMA Awards

IIFA Utsavam

Asianet Film Awards

References

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Babu, Jagapati
Living people
1962 births
Telugu actors
Male actors in Telugu cinema
Male actors in Tamil cinema
Male actors in Kannada cinema
Male actors in Malayalam cinema
Indian male film actors
20th-century Indian male actors
21st-century Indian male actors
Indian television presenters
Filmfare Awards South winners
Nandi Award winners
Male actors from Andhra Pradesh
People from Machilipatnam
Actors from Krishna district
IIFA Utsavam winners
Telugu people