Venkatesh
Venkatesh in 2024
Born	Daggubati Venkatesh (1960-12-13)13 December 1960 (age 64)[1] Madras (present-day Chennai),Tamil Nadu, India
Other names	Venky
Alma mater	Loyola College, Chennai Monterey Institute of International Studies (MBA)
Occupation(s)	Actor Film producer
Years active	1986–present
Works	Full list
Spouse	Neeraja ​ (m. 1985)​
Children	4
Father	D. Ramanaidu
Relatives	D. Suresh Babu (brother) Rana Daggubati (nephew) Naga Chaitanya (nephew)
Family	seeDaggubati–Akkineni family

Daggubati Venkatesh (born 13 December 1960) is anIndian actor andfilm producer known for his work predominantly inTelugu cinema.^[2] Venkatesh has a prolific career spanning over 37 years and is known for portraying a variety of characters. He has received many accolades including sixFilmfare Awards and fiveNandi Awards.^[3]

Venkatesh made his debut in 1986 with the commercially successfulKaliyuga Pandavulu. He achieved stardom with box-office hits^[4][5] such asSrinivasa Kalyanam (1987),Brahma Puthrudu (1988),Prema (1989),Dhruva Nakshatram (1989),Bobbili Raja (1990), andKshana Kshanam (1991), the latter of which featured at theFribourg Festival and went on to gather acult following.^[6][7][8]

Venkatesh received further acclaim for his notable performances as a painter inSwarnakamalam (1988), which featured in the Indian panorama section of the12th IFFI,^[9] an attorney in bothSathruvu (1991) andDharma Chakram (1996), a coolie inCoolie No. 1 (1991), an eccentric cop in bothSurya IPS (1991) andGharshana (2004), an autistic villager inChanti (1992),^[5] 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), andBodyguard (2012), in the family dramas:Suryavamsam (1998),Sankranti (2005) andSeethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu (2013), a journalist inGanesh (1998), in the action dramas:Jayam Manadera (2000),Lakshmi (2006),Tulasi (2007) andVenky Mama (2021), in the comedies:Chintakayala Ravi (2008),Namo Venkatesa (2010),F2 (2019),F3 (2022), andSankranthiki Vasthunam (2025), in the crime thrillersEenaadu (2009),Drushyam (2014) andDrushyam 2 (2021), an atheist inGopala Gopala (2015), a boxing coach inGuru (2017), and a farmer inNarappa (2021).

Venkatesh also starred in Hindi language works such asAnari (1993),Taqdeerwala (1995), andRana Naidu (2023).^[10] In addition to acting, he co-ownsSuresh Productions,^[11] one of the largest film production companies in India, under which he acted in several films.^[12][13] He is also the mentor of theTelugu Warriors, representingTollywood in theCelebrity Cricket League.^[14]

Venkatesh was born on 13 December 1960 in aTelugu family to film producer and formerMember of Parliament,D. Ramanaidu and Rajeswari in Madras (present-day Chennai), India. He has an elder brotherSuresh Babu, who runsSuresh Productions, and a younger sister Lakshmi.^[15]

Venkatesh did his schooling inDon Bosco, Egmore,^[16]Chennai and graduated in commerce fromLoyola College, Chennai.^[17][18] He got hisMBA from theMiddlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, USA.^[15] After his return to India, he wanted to get into film production but instead became an actor.^[19]

Venkatesh first appeared as a child actor in the 1971 filmPrema Nagar. His first film as a full-fledged lead wasK. Raghavendra Rao-directedKaliyuga Pandavulu (1986), alongsideKhushbu Sundar which was a debut for both of them. The film won him aNandi Special Jury Award.^[2]

In 1996, he portrayed an honest lawyer inDharma Chakram, which won him both theNandi Award andFilmfare Award South.^[3][20] Later that year, he played a husband struggling between two wives in theE. V. V. Satyanarayana directed hitcomedy dramaIntlo Illalu Vantintlo Priyuralu.^[21] InGanesh (1998), he played a person fighting the ills of the Indian public healthcare system. The following year, he starred in theromantic action filmPreminchukundam Raa. The film, which was one of the first portrayals offactionalism inRayalaseema region, was a big commercial success.^[22] His 1999drama filmRaja, where he plays a small time thief who is reformed by his love was also well received by the audience.^[21] Following this, he established himself as one of top actors in Telugu cinema.^[23]

In 2001, Venkatesh starred in theromantic comedyNuvvu Naaku Nachav which was a critical and commercial success.^[24] The success continued withMalliswari (2004), his second collaboration with directorK. Vijaya Bhaskar afterNuvvu Naaku Nachav.^[21] In 2007, he starred in two films,Aadavari Matalaku Arthale Verule andTulasi, both of which grossed over₹30crore at thebox office.^[5] In the following years, Venkatesh appeared in several films, includingChintakayala Ravi (2008),Namo Venkatesa (2010) andBodyguard (2012).^[25][26][27]

In 2013, Venkatesh co-starred alongsideMahesh Babu in the critically acclaimeddramaSeethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu.^[28][29] The film was one of the first Telugu majormulti-starrer films after many years. Subsequently, Venkatesh went on to feature in other multi-starrers such asMasala (2013),Gopala Gopala (2015) andF2: Fun and Frustration (2019).^[30]F2 grossed over₹127 crore and ended up as one of thehighest-grossing Telugu films of 2019.^[31][32]

Venkatesh's performance inDrushyam (2014) received several accolades from the critics.^[33] He portrayed a strict boxing coach in theSudha Kongara'ssports dramaGuru in 2017.^[34]

Later in 2019, he starred inVenky Mama, alongside his nephewNaga Chaitanya. The film was a profitable venture, grossing more than₹72 crore worldwide.^[35] In the same year, he dubbed in Telugu for the Genie inAlladin. His 2021 filmNarappa was released onAmazon Prime, which marked his first direct-to-OTT released.^[36] In 2022, the sequel toF2,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 withSaindhav, directed bySailesh Kolanu.^[37] 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.

• On 24 April 2010, he signed withManappuram General Finance and Leasing Ltd as theirbrand ambassador forAndhra Pradesh.^[38]
• He openedRamraj Cotton Company branch in Ameerpet as a brand ambassador for the company.^[39]

Venkatesh married Neeraja in 1985 and the couple has four children—three daughters and one son.^[40][41] His eldest daughter, Aashritha, married Vinayak Reddy, the grandson ofR. Surender Reddy, the chairman of Hyderabad Race Club.^[42] He is also the uncle of actorsRana Daggubati andNaga Chaitanya.^[43]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toVenkatesh Daggubati.

• Venkatesh Daggubati atIMDb

• Akkineni–Daggubati family
• 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

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