Raavu Ramesh Rao (born 25 May 1968) is an Indian actor known for his works primarily 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, Hy ...

Telugu theatre Telugu theatre is Indian theatre in the Telugu language, based in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Gurajada Apparao wrote the play, ''Kanyasulkam'' in 1892, which is often considered the greatest play in the Telugu language.20th Cent ...

, and television. He is the son of veteran actor

Rao Gopal Rao Raavu Gopala Rao (14 January 1937 – 13 August 1994) was an Indian actor and producer known for his works in Telugu cinema and Telugu theatre. In a film career spanning more than twenty five years, Rao starred in over four hundred feature film ...

. Rao Ramesh initially appeared in ''

Seema Simham ''Seema Simham'' () is a 2002 Telugu-language action film, produced by J.Bhagawan & DVV Danayya under the Sri Balaji Art Creations banner and directed by G. Ram Prasad. It stars Nandamuri Balakrishna, Simran, Reema Sen, and music is composed by ...

'' (2002), ''

Okkadunnadu ''Okkadunnadu'' () is a 2007 Indian Telugu-language action thriller film directed by Chandra Sekhar Yeleti. The film stars Gopichand and Neha Jhulka with Mahesh Manjrekar playing the antagonist role. The music was composed by M. M. Keeravani ...

'' (2007), before getting a breakthrough role in Krish's ''

Gamyam ''Gamyam'' () is a 2008 Indian Telugu-language road film written and directed by Krish. The film stars Allari Naresh, Sharwanand, and Kamalinee Mukherjee. Loosely inspired by '' The Motorcycle Diaries'' (2004), the plot follows the quest o ...

'' (2008), portraying a reformed Naxalite, he received critical acclaim for his portrayal and the film went on to become one of the highest grossing Telugu films of the year. His subsequent films, ''

Kotha Bangaru Lokam ''Kotha Bangaru Lokam'' () is a 2008 Indian Telugu-language romantic drama film directed by debutant Srikanth Addala, and produced by Dil Raju. The film stars Varun Sandesh and Shweta Basu Prasad with Prakash Raj, Jayasudha, Brahmanandam, and Ra ...

'' (2008), ''

Avakai Biryani ''Avakai Biryani'' () is a 2008 Telugu-language film written and directed by Anish Kuruvilla. Filmed in Telugu, it revolves around Akbar Kalam, a Muslim auto rickshaw-driver and Lakshmi Jandhyala, a traditional Hindu woman with a romantic backd ...

'' (2008) and

S. S. Rajamouli Koduri Srisaila Sri Rajamouli ( ; born 10 October 1973) is an Indian film director and screenwriter who primarily works in Telugu cinema. He is the highest paid director in India, and is known for his action, fantasy, and epic genre films. T ...

's ''

Magadheera ''Magadheera'' () is a 2009 Indian Telugu-language fantasy action film directed by S. S. Rajamouli and produced by Allu Aravind's Geetha Arts, on a story by V. Vijayendra Prasad. The film stars Ram Charan, Srihari, Kajal Aggarwal and Dev Gil ...

'' (2009) were box office hits, while his role in the latter as a hunchbacked old Tantric won him further acclaim. Throughout the early 2010s, Rao Ramesh became a popular supporting actor and described that by 2015, he was in the "best phase of his career".

Early life

Rao Ramesh was born on 25 May 1968 in

Srikakulam Srikakulam is a city and the headquarters of Srikakulam district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. census,. it has a population of 165,735. There are many other places of Buddhist Tourism such as Salihundam, Kalinga Patnam, Dabbaka Vaa ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

, to actor

. He was brought up in

Chennai 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 ...

. His initial schooling was from Sri Ramakrishna Mission School in T. Nagar and later completed a degree in Communications before getting into Still-photography. He later joined K. S. Prakasa Rao, a cinematographer and brother of

K. Raghavendra Rao Kovelamudi Raghavendra Rao (born 23 May 1942) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema besides having directed a few Hindi films. He has garnered four state Nandi Awards and fiv ...

, as an assistant before going to Bangalore to learn industrial photography.

Early career

Rao began acting in a Television series directed by Ghantasala Ratna Kumar, but the production was shelved amidst schedules. He subsequently moved back to Chennai and started acting in soap operas such as ''Pavithra Bandham'' and ''Kalavari Kodalu'', and shot for over 1000 episodes in the space of four and half years.

Filmography

Telugu

Tamil

Kannada

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ramesh, Rao Living people Indian male film actors 21st-century Indian male actors Male actors from Andhra Pradesh Telugu male actors People from Srikakulam Male actors in Telugu cinema Indian male stage actors Telugu comedians Nandi Award winners Male actors in Telugu theatre Indian male comedians 1968 births Male actors in Tamil cinema Male actors in Kannada cinema