Name: DAGGUPATI VENKATESH Born: December 13th ,1960 Birth Place: Karamchedu, Prakasam dist, Andhra Pradesh, India Education: M.B.A. From Montery University USA
First film: Kaliyuga Pandadulu released in 1986 First Nandi : Award for Kaliyuga Pandavulu in 86
VENKATESH ENTRY TO THE TELUGU FILM INDUSTRY:
Daggupati Venkatesh, Venky for his fans and Victory Venkatesh for the box office, needs no prologue. Venkatesh, brainy and brawny, graduated with MBA degree from Montery University, USA. Though lucky in terms of resources, Venkatesh made it to the top with his own style of acting.
fter his return to India, he wanted to get into production. But destiny has something else in store for him. He became an actor. For a debut actor, he has all the resources that one can dream of. His father, Dr. D. Ramanaidu and his brother D.Sureshbabu successfully run one of the most prestigious banner in Indian Cinema, Suresh Productions.
enkatesh debuted through Kaliyuga Pandavulu in the year 1986. He is launched like any other hero. The movie was not only a hit but also got him his first Nandi award, which is a rare accomplishment for a debutante actor. Venkatesh started out as an action hero. Srinivasa kalyanam was his first film that portrayed Venkatesh in a soft role. Brahmaputrudu and Rakthatilakam followed his action hero streak.
K.Viswanath is considered a great and classical director. He is known to cast people for the story rather than providing story tailor-made. Venkatesh got to work with him in the early phase of his career itself. Just two years old as an actor, Venkatesh skillfully fitted himself in Swarnakamalam directed by K.Viswanath. The movie got him his second Nandi.
Varasudochadu released in the same year, proved another feather in his cap. With two blockbusters and great performances in 88, Venkatesh progressed into 89 With full of positive energy flowing. He teamed up with Sureshkrishna and Revathy for a great lovestory Prema. Ilayaraja composed the tunes and they are still rated the best songs. Prema, a musical blockbuster, added another Nandi to his list of achievements. In the first four years of his career, Venkatesh won three Nandi awards.
After a few movies, that didnot do that good to his career, he got a break in the form of Bobbiliraja. Added to the name and performance of Venkatesh was delightful Divyabharathi, good comedy and melodious music. Bobbiliraja is a musical hit and also entertained audience from all sections because of it's ingredients.
An action film followed Bobbiliraja. Sathuruvu portrayed Venkatesh in a different dimension. An angry young man, lawyer by profession, who takes law into his hands after failing to fight the corruption through the court. Music by Ilayaraja was amazing and nothing could stop it from blasting off the counters at box office.
Venkatesh has a palate for good music. This is very evident from the kind of music his movies are packed with. Surya IPS, though did not prove great at box office, is a musical hit. A bizzare thing in his career was for no apparent reason, a superbly made film Kshana Kshanam managed average at the box office. Directed by technincal wizard Ramgopal Varma, relishing music by keeravani and added glamour of Sridevi - what possibly could go wrong? Nothing. But still it just ran average. However, kshana kshanam is the favorite of every Telugu movie lover. The movie got recognition in other languages too.
Chanti, a remake of Tamil chinna Tambi, happened in 1991. Chanti was definitely a challenging role for Venkatesh. An innocent, mentally not grown kind of a role. Chanti was a super duper hit. This also changed his career for ever. Starting from Chanti, he went for continuous remakes - Chinarayudu, Sundarakanda, Anari, Kondapalli Raja, Abbaigaru, Pokiriraja, Takdhirwala - that got him branded as a remake hero.
Anari was the remake of Chanti in Hindi. Sundarakanda, gave a classic image to Venkatesh. Colorful formals, with a tie and glasses, in a soft role, put him in a different image altogether. Though the movie started out with split talk, it went on to create wonders at the box office. Soft image started garnering for him at this point. He started becoming a family hero and turned out a huge fan following among women.
Movie career is not always a sucess story. Failure and Success run parallel. Venkatesh, though always cautious with the storylines, is no exception. Following Sundarkanda in 92, his career went through a rough phase until Intlo Illalu Vantintlo Priyuralu in 1996. When critics were about to write him off, he shot the box office with Intlo Illau Vantintlo Priyuralu. Poised back, Venkatesh gave a phenomenal performance in Dharmachakram. He dished out a very balanced performance as a lawyer in agony caused by the seperation of his love by his father. He fights against his father in that rage. Though commercially it failed, critically it was very well acclaimed and he gets another Nandi added to the stand of his accomplishments.
Suryavamsam, another remake, is a change from the lover boy role that he did in the blockbuster of the year, Preminchukundam Raa. He introduced a new director Tirupati Swamy to direct Ganesh - another angry young man role who fights against corruption. This time against the health system and corruption related to it. What else can you expect? Another Nandi added to his list. This time, his message was well received by the audience too.
Raja and Kalisundam Raa followed. Kalisundam Raa, directed by a debutante director Udayshankar, won national award as the best regional film. A clean family entertainer that not only got him a Nandi award but took his image to peak with lady audience. A much hyped Deviputrudu, for the graphics, produced by M.S.Raju followed but could not stand up to the expectations.
Nuvvu Naaku Nachavu, a delightful entertainer, released in 2001. NNN started out with a average talk and turned into one of the biggest hits of the year. Thanks to the dialogues by Trivikram. Venkatesh should be applauded for taking up such a role. It's a non-image character rarely done by a star of his image. He proved that he is not bound by an image and could do any role with ease.
Venky made a conscious balance in his roles. He worked equally on action and mass films, soft-love stories and performance oriented roles. As experienced as he is, he still learnt from each of his movies and made himself a better actor with each movie. He is considered a calm and non-controversial hero in tollywood. All the movies aforementioned and several other movies prove Venky as a hero and a versatile actor. Not to mention he is the only hero to have acheived most number of Nandi Awards.
Started out in 1986 with Kaliyuga Pandavulu, Venkatesh acted in a total of 51 films by 2002. Venkatesh entertained his fans with atleast one hit per year from the beginning of his career. Exceptions are 95 and 2002. Venkatesh with his good looks, a different style and selection of stories is one the top stars in the Telugu film industry.
Awards
* 1986, Nandi Award for Best Male Debut, Kaliyuga Pandavulu * 1986, Kinnera Award for Best Actor, Kaliyuga Pandavulu * 1988, Kinnera Award for Best Actor, Brahma Putrudu * 1988, Nandi Award for Best Actor, Swarnakamalam * 1989, Filmfare Best Actor Award (Telugu), Prema * 1989, Nandi Award for Best Actor, Prema * 1991, Madras Filmfans Award for Best Actor, Coolie No.1 * 1991, Cinegoers Award for Best Actor, Coolie No.1 * 1991, Bagyanagar Award for Best Actor, Shatruvu * 1992, Cinegoers Award for Best Actor, Sundarakanda * 1992, Yuvavahini Award for Best Actor, Sundarakanda * 1993, Cinegoers Award for Best Performance, Abbai Garu * 1993, Kalasagar Award for Best Actor, Abbai Garu * 1996, Vamsee Berkley Award for Best Actor, Dharma Chakram * 1996, Kalasagar Award for Best Actor, Dharma Chakram * 1996, Filmfare Best Actor Award (Telugu), Dharma Chakram * 1996, Nandi Award for Best Actor, Dharma Chakram * 1998, Kinnera Award for Best Actor, Ganesh * 1998, Filmfare Best Actor Award (Telugu), Ganesh * 1998, Nandi Award for Best Actor, Ganesh * 2000, Filmfare Best Actor Award (Telugu), Jayam Manade Raa * 2000, Nandi Award for Best Actor, Kalisundam Raa * 2006, Santosham Best Actor Award, Sankranthi
Filmography
2009 Marma Yogi 2008 Chintakayala Ravi Ravi 2007 Tulasi Tulasi Ram Adavari Matalaku Ardhalu Verule Ganesh 2006 Lalshmi Lakshmi Narayana 2005 Subhas Chandra Bose Ashok/Subash Chandra Bose Sankranthi Raghavendra Winner, Santosham Best Actor Award Nomination, Filmfare Best Actor Award (Telugu) Soggadu Cameo2004 Gharshana DCP Rama Chandra Malliswari Prasad 2003 Vasantham Ashok 2002 Gemini Gemini Vasu Vasu 2001 Nuvvu Naaku Nachav Venkateswarlu aka "Venky" Prematho Raa Chandra Sekhar Devi Putrudu Krishna/Balaram 2000 Jayam Manade Raa Abhiram/Rudrama Naidu/Mahadeva Naidu Winner, Filmfare Best Actor Award (Telugu) Kalisundam Raa Raghu Winner, Nandi Award for Best Actor 1999 Seenu Seenu Raja Raja 1998 Premante Idera Murali Ganesh Ganesh Winner, Filmfare Best Actor Award (Telugu) Surya Vamsham Harischandra Prasad/Bhanu 1997 Pellichesukondam Anand Premichukondam Raa Giri Chinnabbai Chinnabbai alias Sundaram 1996 Pavithra Bhandam Vijay Sarada Bullodu Vijay Intlo Illalu Vantintlo Priyuralu Sriram Sahasa Veerudu Sagara Kanya Ravi Chandra Dharma Chakram Rakesh Winner, Filmfare Best Actor Award (Telugu) 1995 Takdheervala Hindi Pokiri Raja Balaraj Raja 1994 Muddula Priyudu Raju Super Police Vijay 1993 Abbaigaru Dora Babu Kondapalli Raja Anari Hindi 1992 Sundarakanda Venkateswarlu Chinarayudu Chinarayudu Chanti Chanti 1991 Kshana Kshanam Chandu Suyra IPS Surya Coolie No.1 Raju alias Bharath Shatruvu Ashok 1990 Bobbili Raja Raja Aggi Ramudu 1989 Two Town Rowdy Shakthi Dhruva Naksthram Dhruva Kumar Ontari Poratam Prema Pruthvi Winner, Filmfare Best Actor Award (Telugu)1988 Varasudochadu Raghu Swarna Kamalam Chandra Brahma Putrudu Raktha Tilakam 1987 Sreenivasa Kalyanam Srinivas Vijetha Vikram Vikram Trimurthulu Bharatamlo Arjunudu Ajeyudu Murali 1986 Brahma Rudrulu Prasad Kaliyuga Pandavulu Vijay
