Ghattamaneni Ramesh Babu (13 October 1965 – 8 January 2022) was an Indian actor and film producer, who was known for his work in
Telugu cinema
Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Telugu language, widely spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Telugu cinema is based in Film Nagar, ...
. Babu made his on screen debut with the film ''
Alluri Seetharama Raju'' in 1974. He acted in over 15 films before retiring from acting in 1997. In 2004, he became a producer and established Krishna Productions Private Ltd, a film production company named after his father. He produced films like ''
Arjun'' and ''
Athidhi
''Athidhi'' () is a 2007 Indian Telugu-language action romance film starring Mahesh Babu and Amrita Rao, directed by Surender Reddy and produced by G. Ramesh Babu, brother of Mahesh Babu, under their banner Krishna Pictures Private Limited. I ...
'', both of which had his brother
Mahesh Babu
Ghattamaneni Mahesh Babu (born 9 August 1975) is an Indian actor, producer, media personality, and philanthropist who works mainly in Telugu cinema. He has appeared in more than 25 films, and won several accolades including, eight Nandi Awar ...
in leading role. One of his last roles was as a presenter for the 2011 film ''
Dookudu
''Dookudu'' () is a 2011 Indian Telugu-language action comedy film directed by Srinu Vaitla and written by Vaitla, Kona Venkat, and Gopimohan. It is produced by Ram Achanta, Gopi Achanta, and Anil Sunkara under the banner 14 Reels Entertainme ...
''.
Early life
Ramesh Babu was born on 13 October 1965 in
Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
to prominent Telugu film actor
Krishna
Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...
and his first wife Indira Devi. He is the first born to his parents. He has three younger sisters, actress-producer
Manjula Ghattamaneni
Manjula Swarup ( née Ghattamaneni; born 8 November 1970) is an Indian film producer and actress known for her work in Telugu Cinema. Born to prominent Telugu actor Krishna, she began her acting career by doing a cameo role in the 1999 film ''R ...
, Padmavathi and Priyadarshini and one younger brother,
Mahesh Babu
Ghattamaneni Mahesh Babu (born 9 August 1975) is an Indian actor, producer, media personality, and philanthropist who works mainly in Telugu cinema. He has appeared in more than 25 films, and won several accolades including, eight Nandi Awar ...
a prominent actor in Telugu Cinema.
Career
Acting career
In 1977, Ramesh Babu ventured into films as a child actor at the age of 12 with his father's film ''Manushulu Chesina Dongalu''. After two years, at the age of 14, he was cast in a vital role in the film ''Needa'', which was directed by
Dasari Narayana Rao
Dasari Narayana Rao (4 May 1947 – 30 May 2017) was an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, lyricist, and politician known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema, in addition to Hindi cinema. He has directed more than 150 ...
. The film also had his four-year-old brother,
Mahesh Babu
Ghattamaneni Mahesh Babu (born 9 August 1975) is an Indian actor, producer, media personality, and philanthropist who works mainly in Telugu cinema. He has appeared in more than 25 films, and won several accolades including, eight Nandi Awar ...
in a small role. After that, he took a brief hiatus from acting. In 1987, he made his comeback as a lead actor with the film ''Samraat'', directed by
V. Madhusudhana Rao. The film had
Sonam
Sonam is a given name. It is a Tibetan name meaning "merit" (). Separately, it is also a name in various Indo-Aryan languages (Devanagari script: ).
People with this name include:
Buddhism
* Sönam Choklang, 2nd Panchen Lama (1438–1505)
* Son ...
paired alongside Ramesh and
Sharada in a vital role.
In 1988, he was seen in films such as
Jandhyala
Jandhyala Subrahmanya Sastry (14 January 1951 – 19 June 2001), known mononymously by his surname Jandhyala, was an Indian film director, screenwriter, playwright, and actor known for his works in Telugu cinema and Telugu theatre. He is popu ...
's ''Chinni Krishnudu'',
A. Kodandarami Reddy's ''Bazaar Rowdy'' and in ''Kaliyuga Karnudu'' and ''Mugguru Kodukulu'', both directed by his father.
''Mugguru Kodukulu'' also had his father and brother acting alongside him. ''Bazaar Rowdy'' became a blockbuster and giving Ramesh his first success as a solo hero. In 1989, he was seen in Dasari Narayana Rao's ''Black Tiger'' and V. Madhusudhana Rao's ''Krishna Gaari Abbayi''. In 1990, he was seen in K. Murali Mohan Rao's ''Ayudham'' and S. S. Ravichandra's ''Kaliyuga Abhimanyudu''.
In 1991, he was seen in ''Naa Ille Naa Swargam'', also starring his father. In 1993, he once again collaborated with Dasari Narayana Rao for the film ''Maama Kodalu'' and was also seen in ''Anna Chellelu'' opposite
Aamani. In 1994, he was seen for the last time in a leading role in the film ''Pacha Thoranam''. The film was directed by Adurthi Saibhaskar and had
Rambha acting opposite Ramesh. In 1997, he was seen in a supporting role in
N. Shankar's ''Encounter''.
Film producer
In 2004, Ramesh Babu established a film production company named ''Krishna Productions Private Ltd'' in Hyderabad. He named the company after his father and ventured into film production with the film ''
Arjun''. Directed by
Gunasekhar and starring his brother
Mahesh Babu
Ghattamaneni Mahesh Babu (born 9 August 1975) is an Indian actor, producer, media personality, and philanthropist who works mainly in Telugu cinema. He has appeared in more than 25 films, and won several accolades including, eight Nandi Awar ...
,
Shriya Saran
Shriya Saran Bhatnagar (; born 11 September 1982) is an Indian actress who works predominantly in Telugu, Tamil, and Hindi-language films. Although Saran aspired to become a well-known dancer, she became an actress with her film debut in 2001 ...
,
Keerthi Reddy
Keerthi Reddy is an Indian former actress who appeared primarily in Telugu, Tamil, and Hindi language films. Her notable work includes '' Tholi Prema'' (1998), ''Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat'' (2001) and '' Arjun'' (2004). She has received a Filmf ...
,
Raja
''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia.
The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested f ...
,
Prakash Raj and
Saritha
Saritha is an Indian actress who has acted in more than 500 films in Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu languages. She was one of the popular and critically acclaimed lead actresses during the 1980s. She also appeared in a television serial, ' ...
, the film was successful at the box office and completed its 100-day theatrical run in 6 centres. His production house was praised for the 40 million worth
Meenakshi Amman Temple
Arulmigu Meenakshi Sundaraswarar Temple is a historic Hindu temple located on the southern bank of the Vaigai River in the temple city of Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is dedicated to the goddess Meenakshi, a form of Parvati, and her consort, ...
set that was built by
Thotta Tharani
Thota Tharani is an Indian film art director and production designer who has predominantly worked in Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam cinema and Bollywood. As of 2013, he has won two National Film Awards, two Filmfare Awards South and four T ...
for the film. His next production venture was ''
Athidhi
''Athidhi'' () is a 2007 Indian Telugu-language action romance film starring Mahesh Babu and Amrita Rao, directed by Surender Reddy and produced by G. Ramesh Babu, brother of Mahesh Babu, under their banner Krishna Pictures Private Limited. I ...
''. Directed by
Surender Reddy
Surender Reddy is an Indian film director and screenwriter who works in Telugu cinema. He made his directorial debut with ''Athanokkade'' (2005), which won him Nandi Awards, Nandi Award for Nandi Award for Best First Film of a Director, Best Fi ...
, the film once again had his brother Mahesh Babu in lead role.
Amrita Rao
Amrita Rao (born 7 June 1981), is an Indian actress who is known primarily for her work in Hindi films. Rao made her acting debut in ''Ab Ke Baras'' (2002), which earned her a nomination for Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut in 2003. She su ...
was paired opposite Mahesh and
Murali Sharma
Murali Sharma (born 9 August 1972) is an Indian actor who works predominently in Telugu and Hindi films. Sharma has starred in over 130 feature films, including Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Malayalam cinema.
Sharma gained wide recognitio ...
in a negative role. For ''Athidhi'', Ramesh Babu's production house collaborated with
UTV Motion Pictures
UTV Motion Pictures (also known as Disney-UTV) was the feature film unit of UTV Software Communications founded by Ronnie Screwvala and Zarina Screwvala in 1996 as UTV Motion Pictures Plc., the film distribution division of UTV Software Communica ...
to produce the film. This was the first time a corporate company entered into Telugu film production. The film opened to negative reviews and failed at the box office. In 2011, he was seen as a presenter for the film ''
Dookudu
''Dookudu'' () is a 2011 Indian Telugu-language action comedy film directed by Srinu Vaitla and written by Vaitla, Kona Venkat, and Gopimohan. It is produced by Ram Achanta, Gopi Achanta, and Anil Sunkara under the banner 14 Reels Entertainme ...
''.
Personal life and death
Ramesh Babu died from the effects of liver disease on 8 January 2022, at the age of 56.
Filmography
As actor
As producer
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Babu, Ramesh
1965 births
2022 deaths
20th-century Indian male actors
21st-century Indian male actors
Telugu male actors
Male actors in Telugu cinema
Indian male film actors
Male actors from Hyderabad, India
Film producers from Hyderabad, India
Male actors from Chennai
Telugu film producers
Hindi film producers
Indian male child actors
Deaths from liver disease