The Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu film industries can boast of an embarrassment of riches as far as acting talent is concerned. While doyens like Rajnikanth, Kamal Hassan, Mamooty and Mohanlal continue to bedazzle audiences, there are lots of new stars on the firmament. Get ready to meet the men who rule the Big Screen Down Under!
Tamil actor Suriya is all set to make his entry into Bollywood with Ram Gopal Varma's Rakta Charitra. The entire film is said to last for about 5 hours and it will be divided into two parts.
Suriya Sivakumar: Son of actor Sivakumar, he starred in several films, such as Nandha, Kaakha Kaakha, Ghajini, Perazhagan, Pithamagan, Vaaranam Aayiram, Ayan and Aadhavan. As of 2009, he has won three Tamil Nadu State Film Awards and three Filmfare Awards. He became a film distributor after opening Studio Green, which distributed several of his earlier films. He married actress Jyothika Saravanan in 2006, after being engaged for several years. In 2008, he began Agaram Foundation, which funds for preventing early childhood drop-outs.
Here's a look at other southern superstars.
Rajnikanth: Shivaji Rao Gaekwad, better known by his stage name Rajinikanth, is a giant among luminaries of the film world in India. A Padma Bhushan awardee, Rajnikanth's mannerisms and stylised dialogue delivery in films has made him an icon for millions of fans. Rajinikanth debuted as an actor in 1975 under the direction of K. Balachander in supporting roles. He was later favoured in portraying antagonistic characters and gradually rose to acting in lead roles. After the release of his 1978 film Bhairavi, he became known as the 'super star' of Tamil cinema.
Rajnikanth was reportedly paid Rs. 26 crores for his 2007 release Sivaji, making him the highest paid actor in Asia after Jackie Chan. Sivaji: The Boss was released on June 15, 2007 and went on to become one of the major Bollywood and Hollywood films of the year. Rajinikanth has also been signed to work with the Sivaji team of S. Shankar and A. R. Rahman for another movie, tentatively entitled Endhiran. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is cast opposite Rajinikanth as heroine for the first time. The film is expected to cost 165 crores, one of the highest ever film budgets of the Indian film industry.
Kamal Haasan: Tamil actor is a legend in his lifetime, Haasan is known for winning several Indian film awards, including National Film Awards and Filmfare Awards, and has the distinction of being the actor with the most number of films submitted by India in contest for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Moreover, Haasan holds a record nineteen Filmfare Awards - ranging across five languages, and after his latest award in 2000, wrote to the organisation to exempt him from further awards.
Kamal Haasan: After several projects as a child artiste, Kamal Haasan's breakthrough into lead acting came with his role in the 1975 drama Apoorva Raagangal, in which he played a rebellious youth in love with an older woman. He secured his first Indian National Film Award for his portrayal of a guileless school teacher who tends a child-like amnesiac in 1982's Moondram Pirai. He was particularly noted for his performance in Mani Ratnam's Godfatheresque Nayagan (1987), which was ranked by Time magazine as one of the best films of all time. Since then he has gone on to appear in other notable films such as his own productions, Hey Ram and Virumaandi, as well as the magnum opus Dasavathaaram, in which he appeared in ten distinct roles.
Mammootty: In a career spanning more than quarter of a century, Mammootty has acted in more than 300 films as lead actor, and has been successful in both mainstream and parallel cinema. Mammootty hs received many major awards for his performances. These include three National awards, four State awards and eight Filmfare Awards in the best actor category. In 1998, the Government of India honoured him with Padma Shri for his outstanding contributions to Indian cinema.
Mammootty: The year 2005 proved to be immensely successful for Mammootty with two major box office hits in Thommanum Makkalum and Rajamanikyam, the latter directed by debutant Anwar Rasheed, went on to be the biggest hit of all time in the Malayalam cinema at the time. In 2006, Mammootty acted in Thuruppugulan in which the character Gulan became a rage among the kids and a cartoon series on the character 'super gulan' was started by a kids comics. On October 2009, Pazhassi Raja directed by T Hariharan and written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair was released.
Mohanlal: Actor and producer Mohanlal is a four-time National Award winner. He has won two Best Actor Awards, one Special Jury Award and one Award for Best Film (as producer). In 2001 the Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri for his contributions towards Indian cinema. He acted in his first non-Malayalam movie when popular director Mani Ratnam roped him in for the Tamil film Iruvar. In 2002, Mohanlal acted in his first Bollywood film, Company, which introduced him to the wider Hindi speaking audience in India. It was a critical and commercial hit. In 2009 Mohanlal acted with Kamal Hassan in the Tamil movie Unnaipol Oruvan and was praised by Tamil audience for his performance. He started the year 2010 with a realistic family entertainer Ividam Swargamanu directed by Roshan Andrews.
Southern superstar Vikram is ready to try his luck in Bollywood at the age of 44 with Raavan.
He plays the role of Aishwarya Rai's husband Dev Pratap Singh in the Hindi version of Mani Ratnam's Raavan.
He said in one of his interviews that he was initially scared to be part of the Hindi version but his co-star Aishwarya Rai's brilliant performance in the Tamil venture boosted his confidence.
Vikram is a national award winning film actor. He mainly acts in Tamil and Malayalam language films. Besides acting, he is also a film producer, playback singer and dubbing artist. He made his debut in the 1990 film En Kadhal Kanmani, which was followed by a series of low-budget Tamil and Telugu films throughout the early decade. After the critical and commercial success of Sethu (1999) he has been part of numerous other commercially successful films and has earned major critical acclaim for many of his performances. During his years in the Indian film industry, he has won three Filmfare Awards, as well as securing India's most prestigious film award, by achieving the National Film Award for Best Actor. While some of Vikram's best-known films, Dhill (2001), Gemini (2002), Dhool (2003), Saamy (2003) and Bheema (2008) remain some of Tamil cinema's biggest hits, performances in films like Sethu (1999), Kasi (2002), Pithamagan (2003) and Anniyan (2005) and Kanthaswamy (2009) have won him critical acclaims and awards, making Vikram one of the more successful actors of Tamil cinema, both critically and commercially.
Vishnuvardhan: Sampath Kumar (September 18, 1950 – December 30, 2009), professionally known as Vishnuvardhan, was popularly regarded as having been one of the most versatile, talented, stylish and popular actors in the Kannada film industry. He also acted in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films. Vishnuvardhan started his career with the national award winning movie Vamshavruksha directed by Girish Karnad but Nagarahaavu directed by Puttanna Kanagal, in which he played lead role for the first time, made him an overnight star. Three and half decades of career and a variety of popular roles in more than 200 films speak high about his caliber as an actor. Some of his all-time hits include Naagarahaavu, Muthina Haara, Hombisilu, Sahasa Simha, Bandhana, Naagara Hole, Nishkarsha, Yajamana, Bhootayyana Maga Ayyu and Apthamitra. Vishnuvardhan died on December 30, 2009, due to a massive cardiac arrest, at the King's Court Hotel in Mysore, Karnataka.
Chiranjeevi: Known as the 'Megastar' of Telugu films, Chiranjeevi has been awarded the Padma Bhushan. He is the only Tollywood actor to receive seven Filmfare Best Actor awards. He announced his formal entry into politics on in August 2008 by launching the Praja Rajyam Party at Tirupathi and participated in 2009 elections. He is a member of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly representing Tirupathi. In the '87 release Pasivadi Pranam, Chiranjeevi introduced Break Dance to Indian Cinema. Already number one in Telugu cinema, Chiranjeevi cemented his place as the undisputed king of box office with super hits like Yamudiki Mogudu, Marana Mrudangam in 1988, and State Rowdi, Attaku Yamudu Ammayiki Mogudu in 1989. During this period, he was promoted with what is now a popular title 'Megastar' in his movies, replacing his old title Supreme Hero. Chiranjeevi's mass following has continued to swell with time.
Venkatesh: Fondly called as 'Victory Venkatesh' in Tollywood, he is the son of veteran Telugu film producer D Rama Naidu. Venkatesh made his debut in 1986 with Kaliyuga Pandavulu. With just two years of acting under his belt, Venkatesh acted in Swarnakamalam directed by Kasinadhuni Viswanath. After a few flops, he got a break in the form of Bobbili Raja. Chanti, a remake of Tamil movie Chinna Thambi, was released in 1991. Anari was the remake of Chanti in Hindi cinema, played by himself. Venkatesh has acted in several blockbusters that include recent hits Aadavari Matalaku Ardhale Verule and Tulasi. In 2009 he teamed up with his friend Kamal Haasan and acted in a movie called Eenadu, which did good business. His next film is Namo Venkatesa directed by Sreenu Vytla which will release this year. Venkatesh is considered one of the richest actors in Tollywood. According to Forbes, his estimated wealth is upwards of Rs 550 crore. The actor owns a lavish house near Jubliee Hills, Hyderabad, besides several other properties in Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai and Los Angeles.
Siddharth: After his business management studies, Siddharth Suryanarayan, better known as Siddharth chose to work as assistant director before making debut in the Tamil movie Boys. In the subsequent years, he has worked in many Telugu, Hindi and Tamil movies. Siddharth worked on Mani Ratnam's Aayutha Ezhuthu in 2004 which was dubbed from Tamil into Telugu (Yuva) and he worked with Prabhu Deva in the film Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana that gave his first Filmfare Best Actor award. In 2005, Siddharth also ventured into the writing as well as singing and wrote the screenplay for his Telugu film Chukkallo Chandrudu. Siddharth made his debut in Bollywood with the critically acclaimed Rang De Basanti starring Aamir Khan. Siddharth received the Star Screen Debut Award for his role as Karan Singhania in the movie. Siddharth's next Telugu film Bommarillu received critical acclaim as well as box office success. After the above average grossing Aata in 2007, Siddharth took a sabbatical and did not have a release for 20 months. In 2009, Konchem Ishtam Konchem Kashtam opposite Tamanna received a good response from the critics and the audiences. Siddharth played the lead role in debutant director Anand Ranga's Oy!, which achieved box office success despite mixed reviews. He is awaiting the release of his second Bollywood movie Striker, which is about the life of a carrom player. He has just started work on Prakash Rao's ambitious fantasy epic, produced by veteran K. Raghavendra Rao. Shruti Haasan has been cast opposite Siddharth.
Madhavan: R. Madhavan has acted in Indian films from seven languages, predominantly Tamil and Hindi. Unlike other prominent actors in India, Madhavan began to appear in films after marriage, at the age of twenty-nine, and his career has seen performances in diverse roles. He has received several Filmfare Awards in various categories. Madhavan's first major film appearance was in 2000s romantic film, Alaipayuthey, in which he played a husband going through the trauma of marriage. In the 2002 blockbuster Kannathil Muthamittal, he portrayed a father of an orphaned child alongside Simran. He then played the role of an action hero, for the first time in the successful project, Run (2002) and, the year after, won critical acclaim as a henchman in Mani Ratnam's film, Aayutha Ezhuthu. In 2007, Madhavan set up his own production company, Leukos Films, which will distribute several of his forthcoming films. In recent years, Madhavan has also appeared in Hindi films appearing in three blockbusters, Rang De Basanti, Guru and 3 Idiots amongst other critically acclaimed films. Madhavan, a Tamilian, has taken an activist role in supporting various political and social causes. He appeared in PETA advertising, campaigning against cruelty towards animals, and has promoted vegetarianism causes.
Sarathkumar: Actor, politician and body builder Sarathkumar Ramanathan is also the current president of the South Indian Film Artistes Association. current president of South Indian Film Artistes Association. He started his career in Tamil cinema playing negative roles, and later played minor roles in other movies. He was first chosen for the lead role in Suriyan which was a success at box-office. He mainly played the role of an honest cop. He also floated a new political party in Tamil Nadu to carry out the ideals of K. Kamaraj Nadar. Sarathkumar has acted in six regional languages including English, Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada. He has received critical acclaim for his roles in the films Pulan Visaranai, Sooriyan, Naataamai, Suryavamsam, Natpukkaga, Cheran Pandian and the latest release Pazhassi Raja.
Nagarjuna: Nagarjuna is the son of Telugu actor Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Annapurna Akkineni. Nagarjuna married twice. His first wife, Lakshmi Ramanaidu, whom he married on February 18, 1984, is the daughter of prominent Telugu film producer, D.Ramanaidu, and sister of Telugu film star Venkatesh. Nagarjuna's and Lakshmi's son, Naga Chaitanya made an acting debut with the film Josh, which released on September 5, 2009. In 1990, Nagarjuna starred in the trend setter blockbuster hit, Shiva, an action film directed by Ram Gopal Verma. It went on to become one of the all time hits of the Telugu film industry. He subsequently made his Bollywood debut with the Hindi remake of the same film, which too turned out to be a huge success all over India. Nagarjuna helped launch RGV's Bollywood career.In 1994, he ventured into comedy for the first time with Hello Brother. Hello Brother was such a block buster hit that it was later remade into Judwaa, a Hindi film starring Salman Khan. In 1996, Nagarjuna starred as well as produced, Ninne Pelladutha, which was directed by Krishna Vamsi and co-starred the National Award winning Hindi actress, Tabu. The film was the highest grosser in the Telugu industry. His most recent films, Don and King were commercially successful, even with less than favourable reviews.
Darshan: He is the son of famous Kannada artist Thoogudeepa Srinivas and Meena Thoogudeepa. He struggled a lot before becoming popular on screen, and did a number of off-screen projects to reach his current status. He is often called the Challenging star by his fans. Darshan has acted in over 35 movies. His first movie as a hero was Majestic. His biggest hits include movies like Kalasipalya, Kariya, Datta, Gaja and many more. His latest movie Gaja completed 100 days in the box office recently. Kariya was one of his most popular movies of all time - it has run for more than 700 days in its second release. Gaja was the biggest Kannada box office hit of 2008. He and Rakshita are considered a hit pair among the Kannada-movie goers.
Ganesh: Popularly called as 'Comedy Time' Ganesh and 'Golden Star', Ganesh shot to popularity with the 2007 blockbuster Mungaru Male which is one of the biggest hits in Kannada cinema with earnings crossing Rs. 75 crores. Ganesh's first feature wide-release film Chellata which was a moderate success, ran up to 125 days in some theatres. Then came Mungaru Male which was a roaring success. The film is expected to garner Rs. 60 crores at the box office. It has already earned over forty crores, the highest till now in the Kannada film industry. His third film as hero, Hudugaata opposite Rekha was released on June 8, 2007. The film had a good opening.
Puneeth Rajkumar: Puneeth Rajkumar is the youngest son of Kannada superstar Dr Rajkumar. As a child artist, he appeared in 12 films. He has won the National Film Award for Best Child Artist for the film Bettada Hoovu in 1986. He is married to Ashwini Revanath and has two children, Drithi and Vanditha. Currently he is the highest paid actor in the Kannada film industry. He has films like Bindaas, Vamshi, Raaj-The Showman and Raam to his credit.
Ramesh Aravind: Ramesh Aravind is considered as one of the most versatile actors in Kannada cinema, and has also acted in Tamil movies. He is a Mechanical Engineering graduate from UVCE College, Bangalore. A 'Ramesh film' has come to be a synonym for decent, wholesome family films with no vulgarity. After giving impressive performances in films like Panchamaveda, Srigandha and Aragini, Ramesh had to spend quite a few years in wilderness. In Telugu, he did movies like Little Soldiers, Rudraveena, Sathileelavathi, etc. Ramesh's foray into Tamil as 'Ramesh Arvind' saw him act in successful films like Keladi Kanmani, Duet and many others. Surprisingly, it was only after his success in Tamil films that the Kannada film producers noticed him. With his brilliant performance in films like Anuraga Sangama, Ulta Palta, Tutta Mutta, Chandramukhi Pranasakhi, Gombe, Nammura Mandara Hoove, America America, Hoomale, Deepavali and Sneha Loka he has been the favourite of Kannada moviegoers. He had nine 100 days films in a row, which is a record.
Shivraj Kumar: He is the son of legendary Kannada matinée Dr. Rajkumar and the brother of Kannada film actor Puneeth Rajkumar. After graduating in B.E (Chemical Engineering), Shivaraj Kumar made his screen appearance in Singeetham Srinivas Rao's Anand. Shivanna's first three movies Anand, Rathasapthami and Mana Mechchida Hudugi all completed silver jubilee and earned him the title 'Hatrick Hero - Shivraj Kumar'. Today with over 90 Kannada films to his credit, Shivraj Kumar maintains the standards set by his father to some extent. Shivanna has won year 2005 Best Actor award for his film Chigurida Kanasu. Recently, he starred in the movie Sugreeva which was shot in 18 hours. His film Om, directed by Upendra, set a trend of gangster movies in Kannada. It is one of the biggest hits and most popular movies in the industry.
Sudeep: His first movie was Thayavva and then he played a supportive role in the movie Prathyartha directed by Sunil Kumar Desai. But he first appeared as a leading man in Sparshawhich, also directed by Sunil Kumar Desai. Sudeep acted in the critically acclaimed tragedy film Huccha which proved his acting capabilities. He also acted in Kannada version of the Tamil movie Autograph and Telugu movie Swathi Muthyam. He has won Filmfare Award in the best actor category for three consecutive years. He made his debut in Bollywood with Phoonk. Most of his movies are adapted from Tamil and Telugu movies for which he is criticised. He also stars in Ram Gopal Varma's movie Rann, co-starring Amitabh Bachchan. Sudeep will also be seen in two other RGV films - Phoonk 2 and Rakta Charitra.
Upendra: Born in a middle class Brahmin family from Koteshwar near Kundapur, Upendra started his career off with film director Kashinath as a writer and an assistant director. His first directorial venture was Tharle Nanmaga. In the late 90s he broke into the scene with the extremely violent Om, which also starred actual Bangalore gangsters. He followed this up with A, in which he starred. Upendra, his next film, starred popular Bollywood actress Raveena Tandon.
Vijay: Vijay created a phenomenon of sorts with his very first release Duniya. Has created a niche for himself in the Kannada industry with never before seen stunts and great acting skills. The movie became one of the biggest hits for 2007. The film, made on a shoestring budget of Rs 80 lakhs, had raked in more than 12 crores. Vijay with his great acting in the movie won the best actor award from Karnataka state government. Continuing on the success of Duniya his next movie Yuga was a delight for all his fans. If Yuga was appreciated for its stunts, then his next movie 'Chanda' proved that Vijay is equally at ease with acting. His next film Avva, directed by Kavitha Lankesh, was appreciated by both fans and meant and critics. His film Junglee with Aindrita Ray was a big hit as well.
Jayaram: After college, Jayaram joined Kalabhavan, a professional mimicry troupe in Kochi. At the age of 23, he was introduced into films by script writer and filmmaker Padmarajan who gave Jayaram his launching pad with Aparan in 1988. His films include Manassinakkare (2003), Njaan Salperu Raman Kutty (2004), Finger Print (2005), Alice in Wonderland (2005), Madhuchandralekha (2006), Moonnamathoral (2006), and Anchil Oral Arjunan (2007). In mid-2008, he played Sugunan in Akku Akbar's Veruthe Oru Bharya (2008). His latest film is Sathyan Anthikkad's Bhaghyadevatha (2009). He also forayed into Tamil cinema including roles in Gokulam, Purushalakshanam, Priyanka, Kolangal, Murai Mamman and Pathini. He played the roles of Dr. Kailash and as Ayyappan Nair in Kamal Haasan starrer Thenali and Panchathanthiram.
Dileep: Padmanabhan Gopalakrishnan, better known by his stage name Dileep, started his film career as an assistant director to Kamal. He rose into prominence as a lead actor during the early 2000s. Dileep, who began his career as a mimicry artist, went on to produce the highest grossing film in Malayalam cinema, Joshi's Twenty:20 (2008). His real life role as a transvestite man from the family of fishermen in Lal Jose's Chanthupottu (2005) won him many accolades, including the Special Jury Award of the Kerala State Film Awards. In the year 2009, Dileep had a good start. His film, Crazy Gopalan did very well at the box-office. Although the much awaited Moss N Cat directed by veteran director Fazil didn't perform that well at the box-office, his other film Passenger directed by debutant Ranjith Shankar, was a runaway success. His upcoming films are Siddique's Body Guard & KamalAagathan. Dileep is married to actress Manju Warrier.
Jayasurya: Jayasurya started his career as a television artist and then turned to a mimicry artist and then an actor. Jayasurya has acted in several films in Malayalam and Tamil. He had a number of films in 2007-08 with a variety of roles. The soft lover with a comedy touch in Chocolate, the serious Police Officer in Positive, the humorous drama script writer in Shakspear MA Malayalam, the small time thief in Lollypop, the supporting role in Love in Singapore and the young politician in Balachandra Menon's forgettable film De Ingottu Nokkiye. In 2009, Currency portrayed him in a completely new look and did reasonably well in box office. His latest release Ivar Vivahitharayal is a big hit in theatres. He has worked with notable actors of Indian cinema including megastar Mammootty, Mohanlal and Kamal Hassan.
Pawan Kalyan: Pawan Kalyan's notable films as an actor include Tholi Prema (1998), Thammudu (1999), Badri (2000) and Khushi (2001). He is the younger brother of Telugu actor the Megastar - Chiranjeevi and actor/producer Nagendra Babu. He also directed a film Johnny in which he himself played the lead role and wife, Renu Desai co-starred with him. The film was a flop but received appreciation from critics for his technical brilliance and his martial arts in the movie. His latest movie Jalsa (2008) was a blockbuster and rewrote several records of 76 years of Telugu Industry at box office. The film completed 50 days in 282 centers and 100 days in 25 centers and has grossed over Rs 58 crores till date. Kalyan is currently working for his next film Kommaram Puli.
Prithviraj: Prithviraj Sukumaran made his debut in 2002 in the Malayalam film Nandanam, and has since acted in Swapnakoodu, Ananthabhadram, Chocolate, Vaasthavam, Classmates, Thirakkatha, Thalappavu, Puthiya Mukham and Robinhood. He has also appeared in Tamil films like Kana Kandaen, Parijatham and Mozhi. Prithviraj's Telugu film Police Police is awaiting release.
Pasupathi: A Mechanical Engineer by profession, Pasupathi fine-tuned his acting skills through the famous acting school "Kootthu Pattarai" at Chennai. He first came to fame in the famous serial Vizhuthugal directed by Gopi Bhimsingh, which was instrumental in launching a great number of present day television stars. His first break in commercial cinema was in Housefull where he played a corrupt cop. He got his first major recognized role in Virumaandi (Kothaala Thevar) and Kannathil Muthamittal where he played an LTTE freedom fighter. He later began appearing in negative roles in a number of films such as Dhool, Virumaandi, Thirupaachi. He later branched out into comedy with Mumbai Express and Majaa. His first lead role was in the National Film Award-winning film Veyyil. He later received several other supporing and lead roles in the films Raman Thediya Seethai and Kuselan.
Dhanush: Following his upbringing as the son of a noted director, Dhanush made his film debut under the direction of Kasthuri Raja in Thulluvadho Ilamai. But Dhanush's breakthrough film was in his brother Selvaraghavan's debut directorial venture, Kadhal Kondein. The film portrayed Dhanush as a mentally-disturbed youth, Vinodh, who yearned for the love of his friend, played by Sonia Agarwal, eventually turning possessive over her. Upon release, the film won critical acclaim and became a commercial success, capitulating Dhanush into the main foray of actors in Tamil films.
Directed by debutant M. Jawahar, Dhanush's 2008 release Yaaradi Nee Mohini with Nayantara became a big blockbuster at the box-office. He later appeared in a cameo appearance, for his father-in-law Rajnikanth's venture, Kuselan, being portrayed as himself in a song sequence. His latest venture was in Suraj's Padikathavan opposite Tamanna Bhatia which had a January 2009 release. His performance was praised and the film has become a super hit giving Dhanush 'hatrick successes'. His forthcoming ventures include a collabaration with his brother in Idhu Maalai Nerathu Mayakkam.He is also acting in the film Aadu Kalam directed by Vetrimaran. He will also act in the remake of his father-in-law's yesteryear 1989 comedy flick Mappillai which has been given the same title. A film with Hari has also been announced, which is said to launch in July 2010.
Jayam Ravi: Ravi made his acting debut in the 2003 Tamil film Jayam, produced by his father and directed by his brother M. Raja. The film, a remake of the 2002 Telugu blockbuster of the same name, became highly successful at the box office, running up to 200 days. Thanks to the enormous success of the film, the prefix 'Jayam' was given to his name Ravi. In 2008 Ravi appeared in three films. In his first release Velli Thirai, he appeared in a cameo role, whilst his second release was the family-drama Santhosh Subramaniam, once again under his brother M. Raja's direction. In the Tamil version of the 2006 Telugu film Bommarillu, in which he starred opposite Genelia D'Souza, he essayed the role of a young man, whose choices and wishes are continually subdued by his father's. The film won high accolades and went on to become one of the most successful films of the year, whilst Ravi received a Filmfare nomination for the Best Actor Award. In 2009, he starred in the action film Peranmai, directed by S. P. Jananathan, in which he enacted the role of Dhruvan, a tribal forest officer. His performance was widely appreciated and praised, whilst the film itself was lauded for its patriotic theme. Ravi is currently working on the film Thilalangadi, pairing up with his brother for the fifth time to appear in a remake of a Telugu film. In the Tamil version of the 2009 blockbuster film Kick, he will be sharing screen space with Shaam, Tamannaah for the first time and with veteran actor Prabhu for the second time after Something Something Unakkum Enakkum.
Prasanna: Prasanna was still a student of engineering when he responded to an open audition for actors in Susi Ganesan's Five Star. An unusual and refreshing film dealing with friendship, Five Star marked Prasanna's film debut. The film was produced by Mani Ratnam's Madras Talkies; it was well received by critics and performed modestly at the box office. Prasanna's next two films, however, did not fare well commercially. It was with a Prakash Raj production - Kanda Naal Muthal - that Prasanna tasted true commercial success. The film was directed by Priya V. and costarred Laila and Karthik Kumar. His role of a modern day villain was a huge hit in Mysskin's movie Anjathey. His negative role was praised by the audience. Prasanna is currently working in director G. Marimuthu's Kannum Kannum, costarring Malayalam actress Udayatara.
Kishore: Kishore has acted in Tamil, Kannada and Telugu films. Before his break into films, he was a prominent celebrity among theater actors. His debut movie Kanti fetched him lot of recognition in Kannada films. His well known movie is Duniya which became huge blockbuster.
Vijay: Joseph Vijay Chandrasekhar, better known mononymously as Vijay, is the son of film producer and director S. A. Chandrasekhar. He made his film debut in Naalaya Theerpu (1992). Since then, he acted in several films of action and romance genres. During his years in the Chennai film industry, he has been nominated for one Filmfare Award, while winning three Tamil Nadu State Film Awards. Vijay has starred in several romance and action films, along with the commercially successful films Poove Unakkaga (1996), Kadhalukku Mariyadhai (1997), Kushi (2000), Ghilli (2004) and Pokkiri (2007). The year 2009 started off with the action mass film Villu, which was directed by Prabhu Deva who was keen on working with him again after Pokkiri. The film, which had Vijay in dual roles for the second time in his career. Vijay's next film Vettaikkaaran, directed by Babu Sivan, produced by AVM Productions and distributed by Sun Pictures, was released on December 18, 2009 to positive reviews. Vijay is acting in Sura, in which he will co-star Tamanna Bhatia, directed by S. P. Rajakumar and produced by Sangili Murugan. He is the current ambassador for the IPL cricket team Chennai Super Kings and has also served several commercial companies as a brand ambassador.
Ajith: Ajith Kumar is considered one of the leading actors of the Tamil film industry. He began his career as a supporting actor in a Telugu film before gaining critical recognition in the thriller Aasai (1995). A succession of successful films followed where Ajith was usually depicted as a romantic hero, with Kadhal Kottai (1996) and Kadhal Mannan (1998) being the most notable. Often praised for his performances, he has won three Filmfare Best Actor Awards in Tamil, all three for films which showcased him in multiple roles. Ajith performs predominantly in leading roles in major studio films, ranging from romantic comedies and drama to action thrillers. In addition to his acting, Ajith in a sabbatical, participated in the 2004 British Formula Three season as a race driver for a minor outfit, and was ranked the third best motor car driver in India at his peak. Ajith is currently acting in the film Asal, which is being directed by Saran, making Asal their fourth film together. This film is produced by Sivaji Productions. Ajith is said to have charged Rs 5-6 crore plus a 30 per cent share in profits from the sale of rights.
Vijaykanth: Vijayakanth was born as Vijayaraj Azhagar Swami in Madurai, Tamil Nadu. He has starred in various hits such as Amman Koil Kizhakkaley, Vaidegi Kathirundal, Chinna Gounder, Vallarasu, Vanathai Pola, Sethupathi IPS, Captain Prabakaran, Ulavu Thurai, Periyanna, Kannupada Pokuthayya, Ramana, Neranja Manasu and Sabari. He is instrumental in giving break to actors like Mansoor Ali Khan, Livingston and Sarath Kumar. Vijayakanth has played a policeman in many of his films and is famous for his style of dialogue delivery. He formed the center-left winged Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK), a regional political party in Tamil Nadu. His party contested in all 234 seats in 2006 assembly elections and won one seat contested by him.
Balakrishna: His movie career spans 30 years. He is the son of the former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, actor Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao. Balakrishna made his debut at the age of 12 in his father's film Tatamma Kala (1974), which also featured Bhanumathi Ramakrishna. For the next ten years he acted mainly in his father's films, including Annadammula Anubandham (1976), (a remake of Dharmendra's Hindi hit Yaadon Ki Baaraat) before taking the lead in Mangamma Gari Manavadu (1984).
Simbhu: T. R. Silambarasan is also known as Young Super Star or Little Super Star among his fans. Simbhu began his acting career doing many minor uncredited roles as a child artist, produced by his father T. Rajendar. He made his debut under his father's direction in 2002 and has since acted in several films in lead roles. He has also directed one film, Vallavan and written two films, Manmadhan and Vallavan. Currently, he is the youngest actor in Tamil Film industry. The shoot for Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya is almost completed, which will be released on 14th February 2010. In Goa he will play a cameo role.
Ram Charan Teja: Ram Charan is the son of legendary actor Megastar Chiranjeevi and Surekha, grandson of Allu Ramalingaih and nephew of actors Nagendra Babu and Pawan Kalyan. His cousin Allu Arjun is also a Tollywood actor. Ram Charan made his debut in Chiruta (2007); his performance garnered many awards like Filmfare Best Male Debut Award and Cine MAA Award for Best Male Debut. Magadheera (2009), was a Blockbuster hit.
As of December 2009, he is working on Bommarillu Bhaskar's Orange. The movie which is due to hit the screens in 2010, will see Teja with Genelia D'Souza. Towards the end of November 2009, Ram Charan became the first South Indian to be featured on the cover page of People's magazine (for the December edition).
Ravi Teja: His interest in films brought Ravi Teja into the film industry. In the beginning, he worked in both Television and Films as an Assistant Director but continued in feature films after that. He worked in several Bollywood as well as Tollywood projects including Prathibandh, Aaj Ka Goondaraj and Criminal. Following Ninne Pelladatha, Krishna Vamsi gave him a well deserved break by casting him as one of the lead actors in Sindhuram. His first film as a lead actor was Neekosam, 1999 directed by Sreenu Vaitla. In 2008, the movie Krishna directed by V. V. Vinayak, has broken all the previous records of Ravi Teja, making it the biggest hit of his career. He got another big biggest blockbuster in Kick in 2009. Through a long span he had may ups and downs but finally stands as one of the greatest contemporary actors.
Uday Kiran: Uday became Ultimate Star of Tollywood. He has acted in Telugu and Tamil films as well. Uday made his entry in the Telugu film industry in 1998-99. He has a few hit movies to his credit during the initial few years. He received the Filmfare Best Actor Award (Telugu) for the year 2001 for the movie Nuvvu Nenu.
NTR Jr.: Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao, more popularly known as NTR Jr., Tarak, or just NTR, is the grandson of Late Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao, who was a famous actor, statesman, and former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. He is the son of NTR's son Nandamuri Harikrishna. He is fondly called Tarak by his family, friends and close associates. Later, he changed his name to Taraka Rama Rao in honor of his grandfather. Tarak began his career as a Kuchipudi dancer and a child artist. His first step into Tollywood was with the movie Bala Ramayanam, directed by Gunasekhar. He went on to gain fame with Student No. 1, directed by S.S. Rajamouli, followed by Subbu and Aadi, which brought him success, and created huge stardom for Tarak. His latest release, Kantri, which showcased his superb dancing skills, has also done well at the box-office. His all-round acting abilities, and wonderful performance in 2007 blockbuster Yamadonga, made Late actor Shoban Babu pick Tarak as one of his favorite young actors.
Rajashekhar: Dr. Rajasekhar is noted for his 'Angry' image. He married his co-star Jeevitha. The couple has two daughters, Sivani and Sivatmika. Rajasekhar has appeared in primarily Telugu language films. Several of his films have been dubbed into Hindi and Tamil. His first film, Vandemataram, was released in September 1985. Rajasekhar's last movie is Satyameva Jeyathe.
Mahesh Babu: He is unanimously known as 'Prince' and 'Super Star'. The 2006 release Pokiri won him the Filmfare Best Telugu Actor Award for his portrayal in lead role. The film went on to become a huge commercial success and a landmark hit in the Tollywood industry and has broken all the records under the direction of Puri Jagannadh. A remake of this film was made in Bollywood named Wanted starring Salman Khan and Ayesha Takia and in Kollywood named Pokkiri starring Vijay and Asin, which also became a huge success. He is currently working on Kaleja under the directorship of Trivikram Srinivas, in Singanamala Ramesh's production. Anushka will play the female lead.
Allu Arjun: Allu Arjun is best known for his dancing skill and style. Many of his family members have been involved in the film industry. His father Allu Aravind is a producer. His uncles are the famous actors Chiranjeevi and Pawan Kalyan. His grandfather was the comedic actor Allu Ramalingaiah. His cousin Ram Charan Teja is also a Tollywood actor. He speaks Tamil fluently. All of Allu Arjun's movies have been translated and dubbed into Malayalam. Desamudrudu was renamed Hero and Parugu was renamed Krishna and Gangotri was renamed Simhakutty.For 2009, Arjun had only one release, Arya 2, which is a sequel to the 2004 hit film Arya, which also starred Arjun in the lead role.
Ram: Ram was bitten by the acting bug very early stages in his life. He was 12 when he was first offered the lead role in a 45-minutes short Tamil documentary named ID. And with that movie he was awarded his first "best actor" award among 120 films screened from over 60 countries at the European Film Festival conducted at Otten,Switzerland. Ram had just turned 18 when he signed up for the first movie Devadasu by Y.V.S Chowdary. Devadasu still holds the record for the longest running movie for a debut actor touching 175 days in 17 centres. He stormed into the Telugu film industry with that film, and proved he is here to stay. He was the youngest hero in South India to enter films. Maska by B.Gopal, had one of the biggest openings for a Telugu movie until then.
Prabhas: He is the nephew of Tollywood star and politician Krishnam Raju Uppalapati. Prabhas started his movie career with Eeshwar in 2002 about a poor boy falling in love with a rich girl. In 2003, he was seen as the lead in Raghavendra. Both did not do well at the box office. Varsham (2004) reversed his fortunes. He was cast opposite Trisha. The film went on to become a hit. In 2009 Prabhas was seen in Billa, which is a reworked Telugu version of the hugely successful bollywood film Don (2006). The movie stars Anushka Shetty and Namitha and also Hansika Motwani doing an item number. He shared screen space for the first time with his real life uncle, Krishnam Raju Uppalapati. The movie turned out to be hit. His recent movie Ek Niranjan turned out to be an average one.
Srikanth: Srikanth was born in Vijayawada. He played minor roles as villain and support artist in early part of his career before playing as hero. His first hit film as a hero was Taj Mahal which was produced by famous producer Dr.D.Ramanaidu. He became a superstar with the biggest hit of the year Pelli Sandadi, directed by K Raghavendra Rao. S.V Krishna Reddy and Srikanth have also given several big hits like Vinodam, Yegire Pavurama, Ahvaanam, etc. His hit movies include Khadgam, Sankar Dada M.B.B.S, Pellam Orelithe, Yemandoi Srivaru, Kshemanga Velli Labhanga Randi, Oo Chinadana, and Mahatma.
