Venkatesh Daggubati

Venkatesh Daggubati, honestly, the man’s a legend in Telugu cinema. He’s been around for, what, nearly four decades? Wild. Born into a film family—his dad D. Rama Naidu’s a big shot producer and politician—Venkatesh grew up pretty much in the thick of it. He did the usual school-college drill in Chennai, even got himself an MBA from the States, but film blood runs deep, you know? He kicked off as a kid actor way back in 1971 with Prema Nagar. But the real show began in ’86 with Kaliyuga Pandavulu, and bam—instant hit, awards started rolling in. From there, it’s just hit after hit. Brahma Puthrudu, Swarnakamalam, Prema—dude’s racking up Nandi and Filmfare awards like it’s no big deal. Venkatesh isn’t shy about trying new things, either; double roles, dramatic painters, even Bollywood with Anari and Taqdeerwala. By the late ‘90s and early 2000s, he’s unstoppable: Ganesh, Kalisundam Raa, Jayam Manadera—all box office gold, more awards, and probably a few headaches from carrying so many trophies. There’s also the multi-starrers. Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu? Crowd favorite. Then Drushyam—total suspense vibe, and of course, he nails it. Not to forget Guru, where he’s this tough boxing coach (and yeah, critics loved it). He’s even dubbed for Genie in Aladdin’s Telugu version—flex much? And lately, he’s all over Netflix with Rana Naidu, just proving he’s still got it. In short, Venkatesh is pretty much a one-man blockbuster machine.