Venkatesh Daggubati has had a remarkable career spanning over 37 years in the Telugu film industry, with a few notable appearances in Hindi movies as well.
Born to a film producer and former Parliament Member, D. Rama Naidu, and a housewife, Rajeshwari, Venkatesh completed his schooling at Don Bosco, Egmore, before pursuing his higher education.
He holds a B.Com degree from Loyola College, Chennai, and an MBA from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, US.
Venkatesh began his acting career as a child artist in the 1971 film Prema Nagar, directed by K.S. Prakash Rao. He then transitioned to playing lead roles, starting with Kaliyuga Pandavulu in 1986, which was a huge success and earned him the Nandi Special Jury Award.
The 1980s were a significant period in Venkatesh's career, with hits like Brahma Puthrudu (1988) and Swarnakamalam (1988),which won him the Filmfare Award for Best Actor - Telugu and the Nandi Special Jury Award, respectively.
The 1990s saw Venkatesh appear in a range of films, including Aggiramudu (1996),Bobbili Raja (1990),and Prema (1989),for which he won his first Nandi Award for Best Actor.
He made his Bollywood debut with Anari (1993) and went on to star in Taqdeerwala (1995) and Pokiri Raja (1995).
The 2000s were marked by significant success, with films like Dharma Chakram (1996),Ganesh (1998),Kalisundam Raa (2000),and Jayam Manadera (2000),which earned him numerous awards and nominations.
In the 2010s, Venkatesh appeared in films like Seethamma Vaakitlo Sirimalle Chettu (2013),Drushyam (2014),and Guru (2017),which won him the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor - South.
More recently, he has appeared in Venky Mama (2019) and voiced the role of Genie in the Telugu version of Aladdin (2019). He also played the role of Naga Naidu in the popular web series Rana Naidu (2023) on Netflix.
