Seshu Shankar, better known by his

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

Shakalaka Shankar, is an Indian actor who works in

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

-language films. Known for his comic roles, Shankar is one of the highest paid

Telugu film 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 ...

comedians in 2017.

Career

Shankar dropped out of school in 10th standard and moved to

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

in 2002 to pursue a career in films. Owing to lack of opportunities, he worked as painter for few years, and took up odd jobs in the film industry such as light-man and office boy. Shankar got is first opportunity in ''Notebook'' (2007). He then went to feature in comedy show '' Jabardasth'', where he gained recognition. Shankar subsequently moved on to films. In 2017, he starred in ''

Anando Brahma Anando Brahma is a 2017 Indian Telugu-language comedy horror film written and directed by Mahi V Raghav, starring Tapasee Pannu, Srinivas Reddy, Shakalaka Shankar, and Vennela Kishore. Produced by Vijay Chilla and Shashi Devireddy, the film h ...

'' which was a

box office A box office or ticket office is a place where ticket (admission), tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a Wicket gate, wicke ...

success. Regarding his role, a critic noted that "Shakalaka Shankar brings the house down when he mimics popular actors and their iconic dialogues to baffle the ghost". He appeared in several comic roles before debuting as a lead actor with ''Shambho Shankara'' (2018). Later that year, he starred in ''Driver Ramudu'', which is yet to release. He considers actor-politician

Pawan Kalyan Pawan Kalyan (born Konidela Kalyan Babu; 2 September is an Indian actor, filmmaker, and politician. His films are predominantly in Telugu cinema. Kalyan is the younger brother of actor-ex.politician Chiranjeevi, and made his debut in the 1996 ...

as his role model. In 2020, Shankar played

Ram Gopal Varma Penmetsa Ram Gopal Varma (born 7 April 1962), often referred to by his initials RGV, is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer, known for his works in Telugu cinema in addition to Bollywood, Hindi, Kannada cinema, Kannada language ...

in the film ''Parannageevi.'' He is again reprising the role in Ram Gopal Varma's biopic. Two more films where Shankar appears in a lead role, ''Lord Grandfather and Bomma Adirindi - Dimma Tirigindi'' are also under production''.''

Personal life

Shankar is born and brought up in

Srikakulam district Srikakulam district is one of the twenty-six districts of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, located in the Uttarandhra region of the state, with its headquarters located at Srikakulam. It is one of the si ...

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 ...

. In 2016, he married Parvathi.

Filmography

Television

*'' Jabardasth'' *''

Extra Jabardasth ''Extra Jabardasth'' is an Indian Telugu language, Telugu-language sketch comedy television show. It is an extended version of the comedy show ''Jabardasth (TV series), Jabardasth''.It was conceived and directed by Sanjeev K Kumar. The show is ...

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*{{IMDb name, 8037636 Living people Telugu male actors Telugu comedians Indian male film actors Year of birth missing (living people) People from Srikakulam district Male actors from Andhra Pradesh Indian male comedians