Kota Srinivasa Rao (born 10 July 1942) is an Indian character actor known for his work 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, ...

and Telugu theatre. He has also starred in a few films in Tamil,

Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

and

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...

. As a former politician, Rao has served as the MLA from Vijayawada East in

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 ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

from 1999 to 2004. He made his debut with the Telugu film '' Pranam Khareedu'' in 1978. He starred in over 750 feature films. He has received nine state

Nandi Awards The Nandi Awards are the awards that recognise the excellence in Telugu cinema, Telugu theatre and Telugu television, and Lifetime achievements in Indian cinema. Presented annually by the Government of Andhra Pradesh, the award is named after ...

in various categories of villain, character actor, and supporting actor. In 2012, he has garnered the SIIMA Award for his work in '' Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum''. In 2015, he received India's fourth highest civilian honour

Padma Shri Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...

for his contribution to

Indian cinema The Cinema of India consists of motion pictures produced in India, which had a large effect on world cinema since the late 20th century. Major centers of film production across the country include Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, ...

. He received wide critical acclaim for his diverse roles in films such as '' S/O Satyamurthy'' (2015)'','' '' Attarintiki Daredi'' (2013), '' Rakta Charitra'' (2010), ''

Leader Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets vi ...

'' (2010), '' Ready'' (2008), '' Pellaina Kothalo'' (2006), '' Sarkar'' (2006), ''

Bommarillu ''Bommarillu'' () () is a 2006 Indian Telugu-language romantic comedy film directed and co-written by Bhaskar in his directorial debut, and produced by Dil Raju. The film stars Siddharth, Genelia, Prakash Raj and Jayasudha. The film primarily ...

'' (2006), '' Chatrapathi'' (2005), ''

Athadu ''Athadu'' ( or ) is a 2005 Indian Telugu-language action thriller film written and directed by Trivikram Srinivas. The film stars Mahesh Babu, Trisha, and Sonu Sood while Sayaji Shinde, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Prakash Raj, Nassar, and Brahmananda ...

'' (2005), '' Aa Naluguru'' (2004), '' Malliswari'' (2004), ''

Idiot An idiot, in modern use, is a stupid or foolish person. 'Idiot' was formerly a technical term in legal and psychiatric contexts for some kinds of profound intellectual disability where the mental age is two years or less, and the person cannot ...

'' (2002), ''Prudhvi Narayana'' (2002), ''Chinna'' (2000), '' Ganesh'' (1998), ''

Anaganaga Oka Roju ''Anaganaga Oka Roju'' () is a 1997 Indian Telugu-language comedy film written and directed by Ram Gopal Varma. The film stars J. D. Chakravarthy and Urmila Matondkar in lead roles. Raghuvaran, Brahmanandam and Kota Srinivasa Rao play other p ...

'' (1997), '' Little Soldiers'' (1996), ''Aame'' (1994), '' Hello Brother'' (1994), ''Teerpu'' (1994), '' Govindha Govindha'' (1993), ''

Gaayam ''Gaayam'' () is a 1993 Indian Telugu-language political thriller film, based on the 1980s Vijayawada Gang Warfare. Directed by Ram Gopal Varma, and story co-written by himself and Mani Ratnam, it stars Jagapathi Babu, Revathi, Urmila Matondka ...

'' (1993), ''

Money Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are as ...

'' (1993), ''

Sathruvu ''Sathruvu'' () is a 1991 Indian Telugu-language crime thriller film directed by Kodi Ramakrishna and produced by M. S. Raju under Sumanth Art Productions. It stars Venkatesh, Vijayashanti, and Kota Srinivasa Rao with music composed by Raj� ...

'' (1990), '' Siva'' (1989), '' Aha Naa Pellanta'' (1987), '' Pratighatana'' (1986), and ''

Repati Pourulu ''Repati Pourulu'' () is a 1986 Indian Telugu-language action film written and directed by T. Krishna. The film stars Vijayashanti and Rajasekhar while Anuradha and Y. Vijaya play supporting roles. It has music composed by K. Chakravarthy. T ...

'' (1986). In 2003, he made his debut in the Tamil industry with ''

Saamy ''Saamy'' ( God) is a 2003 Indian Tamil-language action masala film written and directed by Hari. The film was presented by K. Balachander and produced by Pushpa Kandasamy under banner Kavithalayaa Productions. The film stars Vikram and Tris ...

'' as a suave villain.

Personal life

Kota Srinivasa Rao was born on 10 July 1942 in the village of

Kankipadu Kankipadu is a suburb of Vijayawada and a in Krishna District of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is also the mandal headquarters of Kankipadu mandal in Vijayawada revenue division, Vuyyuru revenue division. Geography It is located 55 km ...

in present-day

. His father Seetha Rama Anjaneyulu was a doctor. Srinivasa initially aimed to become a doctor but eventually couldn't make it because of his love towards acting. He started his career on stage in plays during college. He has a Bachelor of Science degree and worked as a State Bank employee before entering the film industry. He is married to Rukmini and has three children (2 daughters and a son). He lost his son Kota Venkata Anjaneya Prasad on 20 June 2010 in a road accident in

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, in the northern part of Southern India ...

. Prasad acted in J. D. Chakravarthy's flick '' Siddham'' and alongside his father in ''

Gaayam 2 ''Gaayam 2'' () is a 2010 Telugu-language crime film, produced by Dr. C. Dharmakartha on Kartha Creations, presented by Ram Gopal Varma and directed by Praveen Sri. Jagapathi Babu, Vimala Raman and the music is composed by Ilayaraja. It is a ...

'' (2010). His acting was critically acclaimed. Srinivasa's younger brother Kota Sankara Rao is also an actor. He works in a nationalised bank and acts in

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

Awards

; Civilian Honours *

(2015) ;

* Special Jury Award – '' Pratighatana'' (1985) *

Best Villain Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporation ...

– ''

'' (1993) *

– ''Teerpu'' (1994) * Best Character Actor – '' Little Soldiers'' (1996) *

– '' Ganesh'' (1998) *

– ''Chinna'' (2000) * Best Supporting Actor – ''Prudhvi Narayana'' (2002) * Best Character Actor – '' Aa Naluguru'' (2004) * Best Character Actor – '' Pellaina Kothalo'' (2006) ; SIIMA Awards * South Indian International Movie Award – Best Supporting Actor – '' Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum'' (2012) ;Other honours *

Allu Ramalingaiah Allu Ramalingaiah (1 October 1922 – 31 July 2004) was an Indian character actor, comedian, and producer known for his works in Telugu cinema. In 1990, He was honoured with the Padma Shri for his contribution to Indian cinema. In 1998, he r ...

Puraskaram

Filmography

As Actor

Telugu

Tamil

Hindi

Malayalam

Kannada

Dakhini

As Singer

As dubbing artist

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rao, Kota Srinivasa Male actors from Andhra Pradesh Living people Telugu male actors Indian male film actors Indian male stage actors Male actors in Tamil cinema Male actors in Hindi cinema Telugu comedians Nandi Award winners Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts People from Krishna district Members of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Andhra Pradesh Male actors in Telugu theatre Indian actor-politicians Male actors from Vijayawada Indian male comedians 20th-century Indian male actors 21st-century Indian male actors Politicians from Vijayawada 1947 births