Rajendra Prasad (actor)

Rajendra Prasad
Prasad at the audio launch event of Quick Gun Murugun (2009), sporting his look from the film.
Born	Gadde Rajendra Prasad (1956-07-19) 19 July 1956 Nimmakuru, Krishna District, Andhra Pradesh, India
Residence	Hyderabad, Telangana, India
Occupation	Actor, Producer, Movie Artist Association (MAA) President
Years active	1977–Present
Spouse(s)	Vijaya Chamundeswari

Gadde Rajendra Prasad (Telugu: గద్దె రాజేంద్ర ప్రసాద్; born 19 July 1956) is an Indian film actor who predominantly works in the Telugu cinema is considered to be one of the finest comic heroes in the Telugu film industry. In 1991, he received Andhra Pradesh state's Nandi Award for Best Actor for Erra Mandaram.^[1] And after almost 25 years, he received his second Nandi Award for Best Actor for Aa Naluguru. Additionally, he has also received Honorary doctorate from Andhra University.^[2] In 2012, he starred in the medical thriller Dream, for which he won the Royal Reel Award along with director K. Bhavani Shankar at the Canada International Film Festival^[3][4]

He has been honoured with the title "Hasya Kireeti" by the Telugu Alliances of Canada, held at Mississauga.^[5] He was also honoured to walk the green carpet at the IIFA film festival held in 2009, marking his performance in the Bollywood film, Quick Gun Murugun.^[6] The film was also screened at the London Film Festival, the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles, the New York Asian Film Festival and in The Museum of Modern Art, New York.^[7]

He was elected president of Movie Artist Association (MAA) for two years in April 2015.^[8]

Personal life

Prasad was born into a middle-class family to Gadde Venkata Narayana and Manikyambba from Nimmakuru, Krishna District, Andhra Pradesh.^[9] His father was a teacher. His family had a friendship with N. T. Rama Rao family. Prasad completed his education, graduating with a diploma in Ceramic Engineering before entering the film industry. He joined a company, be had to resign to that job because he was too young. He happened to watch the shooting of the film Tatamma Kala. He wanted to enter film industry. With the suggestion from N.T.R and Trivikrama Rao he joined an acting school. His son, Balaji, got married in February 2015 in Hyderabad.

Career

Prasad made his debut as an actor on the silver screen with the film Sneham (1977) directed by Bapu. Initially he worked as a dubbing artist and played many supporting roles. A supporting role he played in the film Ramarajyamlo Bheemaraju starring Krishna, fetched him chance in 14 films in sequence.

He was identified by director Vamsy to play a lead role in his film Preminchu Pelladu. He rose to fame with Vamsy's Ladies Tailor. He continued his supporting roles while also playing lead roles. In a career of over 35 years, he acted in more than 200 Telugu films and few Tamil films. Prasad has been called a great comedy actor^[10] and is fondly called the King of Comedy and Natakireeti in Andhra Pradesh.^[11]

His collaboration with director Jandhyala in Aha Naa Pellanta established him as a star over night. He also had a very successful collaboration with directors Vamsy, E.V.V. Satyanarayana, S. V. Krishna Reddy and Relangi Narasimha Rao. Notably, Relangi made 32 films (out of 70 as director) with Prasad. One Major role which garnered him a lot of accolades is Aa Naluguru for which he won the State Nandi Award for second time in his career.^[12] Critically accalaimed films such as Mee Sreyobhilashi, Onamalu made him one of the most reliable actors for such roles in Telugu film industry. He acted as Lord Hanuman in the blockbuster multi-starrer film Devullu.

He also performed crucial roles in films like Julai, Aagadu, S/O Satyamurthy, Srimanthudu, Nannaku Prematho as well as elderly characters in films like Dagudumoota Dandakore.

Telugu people emigrated abroad would take Prasad's movies along with them. Such was the popularity and impact of his films on at least two generations of Telugu people. Even former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao is a big fan of Prasad.^[13]

He was elected Movie Artist Association (MAA) President In 2015, winning with 85 votes against actress Jayasudha, with Sivaji Raja winning as General Secretary.

Awards

Nandi Awards

• Nandi Award for Best Actor (1991) for Erra Mandaram
• Nandi Special Jury Award (1994) for Madam
• Nandi Award for Best Actor (2004) for Aa Naluguru

South Indian International Movie Awards

• Best Actor in a Supporting Role (2013) for Julai

CineMAA Awards

• CineMAA Award for Best Outstanding Actor – Onamalu (2013)^[14]

Filmography

1977 - 1985

1986 - 1990

1991 - 1995

1996 - 2000

2001 - Current

References

External links

• Rajendra Prasad at the Internet Movie Database
• http://www.thehindu.com/arts/cinema/article2636960.ece
• http://www.thehindu.com/arts/cinema/article2603682.ece