Most paid South Indian Actors

Prabhas is an Indian actor who works in Telugu cinema. One of the highest-paid and highest-grossing actor in Indian cinema. Prabhas is hailed as the "First Pan-Indian Superstar". Prabhas was born in a Telugu family to late U. Suryanarayana Raju and Siva Kumari. His family hails from Mogalthur, Andhra Pradesh. He is the youngest of three children and is the nephew of Telugu actor Uppalapati Krishnam Raju. Prabhas did his schooling at Don Bosco Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Chennai, and at DNR High School, Bhimavaram. He then completed his intermediate education from Nalanda College, Hyderabad. He later went on to pursue Bachelor of Technology (BTech) from Sri Chaitanya College, Hyderabad.

Prabhas made his acting debut with drama Eeswar, and later attained his breakthrough with the action romance Varsham. He went on to act in other commercially successful films such as Chatrapathi, Bujjigadu, Billa, Darling, Mr. Perfect, and Mirchi winning the Nandi Award for Best Actor for his performance in the lattermost. He went on to play a dual role in the epic action film Baahubali: The Beginning which received national and international acclaim, and became a record-breaking box office success. He reprised his role in the sequel, Baahubali 2: The Conclusion which rewrote several box office records and emerged as the highest-grossing Indian film at that point, establishing Prabhas as the first pan-Indian star. Commercial success has since varied, with action thrillers Saaho and Salaar: Part 1 - Ceasefire, both of which rank among the highest-grossing Indian films. He is the first Indian actor ever to have four 100+ crore opening films worldwide, a feat unheard of in Indian cinema.

Prabhas is referred to in the media and by his fandom as the "Rebel Star" and "Darling", he has appeared in over 20 films, and earned numerous accolades. He has been featuring in Forbes India's Celebrity 100 list since 2015. He was added to the Forever Desirable list of Hyderabad Times in 2019. He was the most searched actor on Google for the year 2019. He is the only actor from south cinema to feature in the magazine Eastern Eye's 2019 listing of the 10 Sexiest Asian Men. He was also featured in the GQ in their listing of the most influential young Indians of 2017. Prabhas stood alone as the only Indian actor in the "Top 10 Most Used Hashtags on Twitter" list in 2023.

Rajinikanth has been a superstar in the Tamil movie industry since the 70s. He is one of the highest earning actors in Asia. Primarily starring in Tamil movies, he has also worked in Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, and Hollywood movies. He was born in Bangalore (India), and was employed as a bus conductor before he joined the Madras Film Institute. He made his debut in Katha Sangama (1976) and became a star with Apoorva Raagangal (1975) . His unique acting style is characterized by trademark gestures such as flipping a cigarette in the air and catching it with his mouth. He played varied roles successfully and is considered as an actor who can easily perform action, drama, and comedy. He is not very popular for his dancing, which is considered a crucial art for actors in Indian Movies. His performances in movies such as Mullum Malarum (1978), Aarilirunthu Arubathuvarai (1979), Johny Ustad (1980) in the 70's and 80's to movies such as Kabali (2016) recently, are considered to be examples of his acting abilities. His performances as an action-superstar overshadow his critically acclaimed performances in these movies. The Government of India has honoured him with the Padma Bhushan in 2000 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2016 for his contributions to the arts. At the 45th International Film Festival of India (2014), he was conferred with the "Centenary Award for Indian Film Personality of the Year".

Joseph Vijay Chandrasekhar (born 22 June 1974), known mononymously as Vijay, is an Indian actor, dancer, playback singer and philanthropist who works predominantly in Tamil cinema and also appeared in other Indian languages films. Referred to by fans and media as "Thalapathy" (commander), Vijay is the highest paid actor in Tamil cinema. He has significant fan following globally. He has won numerous awards, including eight Vijay Awards by Star India, three Tamil Nadu State Film Awards by Government of Tamil Nadu, and a SIIMA Award. He has been included several times in the Forbes India Celebrity 100 list, based on the earnings of Indian celebrities.

This Telugu Star was a student at the Madras Film Institute and an amateur stage actor. His first public performance was in the Republic Day parade ballet of Andra Pradesh on 26 January, 1976. His film debut was Punadhirallu (1978). His brother-in-law is producer Allu Aravind. His success started with Initilo Ramayya Vidhilo Krishnayya (1981). He is known for his extraordinary dances and fights apart from his power packed performances in movies. His movies carry a reputation of being the best entertainers along with carrying a social message across to the audience. He has done a couple of Hindi movies as well viz., Pratibandh (1990), Aaj ka Gunda Raaj etc and was well recognized for them too.

He is one of the highest paid actors in India today and commands an extraordinarily huge (and cult-like) fan following not only in Andra Pradesh, his native state but all over India and other countries as well. His films are released in US, Europe and Asia Pacific.

Apart from movies, he is also widely known for his philanthropy. He set up a Chiranjeevi Trust for Eye and Blood donations and his fans take an active part in it.

He was awarded the 'Padmabhushan' recently along with a 'Doctorate'.

Ajith Kumar is an Indian film actor who has worked mainly in Tamil cinema. He is one of the leading actors in Tamil Cinema. He began his career as a supporting actor in a Telugu film before gaining critical recognition in the Tamil thriller Aasai (1995). A succession of high-grossing films followed where Ajith was usually depicted as a romantic hero, with Kadhal Kottai (1996) and Kadhal Mannan (1998) being the most notable. He later forayed into method acting, as seen in Vaali (1999), Mugavaree (2000), Kandukondain Kandukondain (2000) and Citizen (2001) before establishing himself as an action hero with popular films including Amarkalam (1999), Dheena (2001), Villain (2002), Varalaru (2006) and Billa (2007). He has won three Filmfare Best Actor Awards in Tamil, all for films which showcased him in multiple roles. Ajith performs predominantly in leading roles in major studio films, genres ranging from romantic comedies and drama to action thrillers.

Pawan Kalyan's actual name is Konidela Kalyan Babu. He began to call himself as Pawan Kalyan when he worked on his first film, Akkada Abbai Ikkada Ammayi, in 1996. He has worked in several critically and commercially successful films and has established himself as one of the leading actors in Telugu cinema. He is also an accomplished choreographer. Pawan Kalyan was born in Chirala, to Sri Venkat Rao and Smt Anjana Devi. He is the youngest brother of actor Chiranjeevi and actor-producer, actor Nagendra Babu. Pawan Kalyan married Renu Desai, an actress who co-starred with him in the movies Badri and Johnny.

Renu Desai and Pawan Kalyan have two children: a son named Akira Nandan born in 2004, and a baby girl named Aadhya born in 2010.

Ghattamaneni Mahesh Babu is an Indian actor, producer, media personality, and philanthropist who works mainly in Telugu cinema. He was born on 9 August 1975 in a Telugu family in Madras (now Chennai), India. One of the most popular & one of the highest-paid Indian film actors. Referred to in the media and by his fans as "Superstar". In addition to being an actor, he is a humanitarian & philanthropist - co running the charitable trust and non-profit organisation "Heal A Child". Mahesh Babu gives 30% of his annual income to charities, and most of his philanthropic activities are unpublicised because he prefers them to be so.

He is the fourth of the five children of Legendary Telugu actor Krishna and his wife Indira. Their family hails from Burripalem in Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh. He was educated at St. Bede's Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School, Chennai. He obtained a bachelor's degree in commerce from the Loyola College, Chennai.

Mahesh made his debut as a child artist at the age of four in a cameo role in Needa (1979) and acted in eight other films as a child artist. He made his debut as a lead actor with Rajakumarudu (1999) which won him the Nandi Award for Best Male Debut.[3] Babu achieved his breakthrough with the supernatural drama Murari (2001), and the action film Okkadu (2003). He went on to act in other commercially successful films such as Arjun (2004), Athadu (2005), Pokiri (2006), Dookudu (2011), Businessman (2012), Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu (2013), Srimanthudu (2015), Bharat Ane Nenu (2018), Maharshi (2019), Sarileru Neekevvaru (2020) and Sarkaru Vaari Paata (2022). Pokiri held the record of being the highest-grossing Telugu film, Maharshi won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film.

Known for his action star persona, N.T. Rama Rao Jr. , commonly referred to as Tarak or Jr NTR is the grandson of legendary Telugu actor and politician N.T. Rama Rao. Tarak is the most successful star from Nandamuri family working in the Telugu film industry.

Tarak was born on 20th May 1983 in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh (currently in Telangana), India to Nandamuri Harikrishna and Shalini Rao. Tarak learnt the Kuchipudi dance form in his early childhood and gave many stage performances in India and abroad.

Tarak was selected by acclaimed Telugu director Gunasekhar to star as the mythological character Lord Ram in the children's film Ramayanam (1996), marking his debut in movies. After starring in a few TV serials, he made his adult debut in movies with Ninnu Choodalani (2001) directed by V.R. Pratap. He has since then starred in over thirty movies in leading roles. He is the recipient of two Filmfare Awards, two Nandi awards and four CineMAA awards.

Konidela Ram Charan is an Indian actor, producer and entrepreneur who primarily works in Telugu cinema. He is one of the highest-paid actors in Indian cinema and has featured in Forbes India's Celebrity 100 list since 2013. Ram Charan is the recipient of several National & International awards. Ram Charan was born in a Telugu family to influential Indian Telugu film actor Chiranjeevi and his wife Surekha. Ram Charan's family hails from Andhra Pradesh. Ram is an equestrian has learnt horse-riding in his childhood. In September 2011, he started his own polo team Ram Charan Hyderabad Polo Riding Club.

Ram Charan made his acting debut with the action film Chirutha (2007), a box office hit, winning the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut - South. He rose to prominence starring in S.S.Rajamouli's fantasy action film Magadheera (2009), the highest-grossing Telugu film of all time at the time of its release. Charan achieved further commercial success with the blockbusters Rangasthalam (2018),Telugu, and RRR (2022), which currently ranks as the third-highest-grossing Indian film of all time and his highest grosser. Charan emerged as a Pan-Indian star with RRR and earned international recognition, including a nomination at the Critics' Choice Super Awards for Best Actor.

In 2016, Charan launched his own production house Konidela Production Company. Beyond his film career, he owns the polo team Hyderabad Polo and Riding Club and was a co-owner of the Airline service TruJet.

Ram Charan takes part in the 41-days-long Ayyappa Deeksha (Vratham), which is done on a yearly basis in Sabarimala. He started this practice in 2008. Charan stated that "this spiritual living is like a detox holiday for him to de-stress, take healthy and simple food and maintaining inner peace from his chaotic shooting schedules and uncertain mundane things" and said that his father Chiranjeevi had inspired him in following the Deeksha.

Kamal Haasan was born November 7, 1954 in Paramakudi, Ramanathapuram District, Tamil Nadu. He debuted as a child artiste in the film "Kalathoor Kannamma" (1960). Since then, he has starred in nearly 220 films in the major Indian languages - Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi. He has been a part of the film industry for 60 years, as of 2020. His journey in cinema has seen him do various roles - from child artiste, to romantic lead to one of the most respected and revered heroes of the film industry today.

He has famously said that he is a reluctant actor. He has an avid interest in every aspect of film making and is known for his work as a choreographer, director, and writer, as well.

He wrote his first script at age 18 for the film "Unarchigal" (1976), which was then followed by films that have gone on to become cult classics - Rajapaarvai (1981), Sathya (1988), Apoorva Sahotharargal (1989), Thevar Magan (1992), Mahanadi (1994), Kurudhippunal (1995), Avvai Shanmugi (1996), Hey Ram (2000), Pammal K Sambandam (2002), Panchathanthiram (2002), Anbe Sivam (2003), are a few of the films etched in popular memory for having set the bar for craftsmanship in the fields of screenplay, script, and dialogue.

He is also a prolific writer of fiction and non-fiction in Tamil and his published work is testament to his constant exploration of structure and form.

Kamal Haasan's strong convictions in his art have led to some of Indian cinema's most path-breaking films like Pushpak / Pushpaka Vimaanam / Pesum Padam (1987). Kamal Haasan also worked as a choreographer while transitioning as a well-known child artiste to the lead actor in a feature length film. Some of his best-known work as a dancer can be seen in Saagara Sangamam (1983) and the popular hit Punnagai Mannan (1986).

Kamal Haasan is also a student of Carnatic music, studying under musical maestro Dr. Balamuralikrishna. One of his biggest hits as a playback singer was the song "Inji Iduppazhagi" for the film Thevar Magan.

His career as a director began with the film Chachi 420 (1997), the Hindi remake of Avvai Shanmugi. Since then he has called the shots for critically acclaimed films like "Hey Ram" and "Virumaandi".

He has never hesitated to state his opinions and encourage debate about topics that are socially relevant. He is a rationalist in thought and moderate in opinion and a humanist in philosophy. The need to be socially conscious is seen in the way his fan clubs have revamped themselves into entities that carry out charity and volunteer work.

Allu Arjun nicknamed Bunny was born on April 8, 1980. His father, Allu Aravind, is a famous producer and his uncle, Chiranjeevi is one of the top actors in the Telugu industry. Also, he is the grandson of late comedian Padmashree Allu Ramalingaiah. He is well-known as stylish star for his unique way of acting and dancing. He is also known for changing his hair and body for each movie that he does. He has starred in 21 movies so far and most of them are super hits. His Acting In The Movie Pushpa Is His Best And Gave Him A National Award and As Of Now Pushpa 2-The Rule Is The Highest Grossed Film In India An All Time Blockbuster Besides being a illustrious actor and Best Dancer In Telugu Film Industry, Allu Arjun gives back to his community and shows to be a successful role-model. Every year on his birthday, April 8th, he donates blood and attends functions for physically and mentally challenged kids. Allu Arjun Has The Highest Fan Base In Telugu Film Industry.

Vikram is an Indian film actor, voice actor and a playback singer. He made his debut in the 1990 film En Kadhal Kanmani, which was followed by a series of Tamil and Telugu films and supporting roles in few Malayalam 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 five Filmfare Awards as well as one National Film Award for Best Actor.

Venkatesh Prabhu known by his stage name Dhanush, is an Indian film actor, producer, lyricist and playback singer who has worked predominantly in Tamil cinema. In 2011, he won the National Film Award for Best Actor for the Tamil film "Aadukalam" and in the same year, he received international attention for his song "Why This Kolaveri Di", which went on to became the most viewed Indian song in YouTube.As of 2014, he has won five Filmfare Awards.

His first film was "Thulluvadho Ilamai", a 2002 coming-of-age movie directed by his father,Kasthuri Raja.Over the next ten years, Dhanush featured in 25 movies and made his Hindi debut in "Raanjhanaa" in the year 2013.

Venkatesh Daggubati has worked in the Telugu film industry for over 37 years. He has also done a few Hindi movies.

His father, D. Rama Naidu, was a film producer and former Parliament Member; his mother, Rajeshwari, is a housewife. He completed his schooling at Don Bosco, Egmore.

He completed his B.Com from Loyola College, Chennai, and his MBA from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, US.

He started his film career as a child artist in the movie Prema Nagar (1971) in 1971, in which he played the role of Keshav. It was directed by K.S. Prakash Rao.

After his MBA, he returned to India and wanted to pursue a career in film production. However, he became a Telugu actor and starred in his first movie as a lead in Kaliyuga Pandavulu (1986).

This movie was directed by K. Raghavendra Rao and was also the debut movie of actress Khushbu Sundar. It was a huge success and won the Nandi Special Jury Award.

After appearing in five movies in 1987, he was a part of two major hits in 1988, Brahma Puthrudu (1988) as Shakthi, which got him a Filmfare Award for Best Actor - Telugu, and Swarnakamalam (1988) as Chandra Sehkar (the role of a painter), which won the Nandi Special Jury Award.

Swarnakamalam was also featured in the 12th IFFI, the Asia Pacific Film Festival in the Indian Panorama section and the Ann Arbor Film Festival.

He starred as Pruthvi in Prema (1989), for which he got his first Nandi Award for Best Actor.

In 1990, he appeared in a dual role in the movie Aggiramudu (1996) as Aggi Ramudu and Vijay. He also appeared in the action movie Bobbili Raja (1990) along with the late actress Divya Bharti. These films were featured at the Fribourg Festival.

He made his Bollywood debut with the movie Anari (1993) opposite Karisma Kapoor. He also starred in another Hindi movie, Taqdeerwala (1995), opposite Raveena Tandon.

In 1995, he did another movie, Pokiri Raja (1995), in a double role as Chanti and Balaraju. The film was directed by A. Kodandarami Reddy.

He delivered another significant role successfully with Dharma Chakram (1996), for which he was recognised with Nandi Award for Best Actor and Filmfare Award for Best Actor - Telugu. In this movie, he plays the role of an honest lawyer.

In 1998, he made another successful movie Ganesh (1998), again winning the Nandi Award for Best Actor and Filmfare Award for Best Actor - Telugu. His role as Ganesh fought with the vices of the Indian healthcare system.

His movie Kalisundam Raa (2000), in which he played the role of Raghu, got him another Nandi Award for Best Actor and the Filmfare Special Award - South.

In the same year, he appeared in another blockbuster success Jayam Manadera (2000), in a dual role as Mahadeva Naidu and Rudrama Naidu/Abhiram, for which he got the Filmfare Award for Best Actor - Telugu.

In 2007, he appeared as Ganesh in Aadavari Matalaku Ardhalu Verule (2007), which got him another Nandi Award for Best Actor.

Daggubati has also starred in several multi-starrer movies like Seethamma Vaakitlo Sirimalle Chettu (2013), along with Mahesh Babu.

In 2014, he appeared as Rambabu in the crime thriller Drushyam (2014) and reappeared in its sequel Drushyam 2 (2021) in 2021. Drushyam 1 got him the Best Actor (Jury) award at TSR - TV9 National Film Awards in 2015.

His hit movie Guru (2017) won him Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor - South. In 2019, he starred in Venky Mama (2019) along with his nephew Naga Chaitanya Akkineni, which grossed more than 72 crores across the globe.

Daggubati has voiced the role of Genie in the Telegu Version of the Hollywood movie Aladdin (2019), originally voiced by Will Smith.

He appeared as Naga Naidu in the popular web series Rana Naidu (2023) on Netflix, a Hindi-Telugu bilingual series, along with Rana Daggubati and Surveen Chawla.

Karthi, born Karthik Sivakumar, is an Indian actor known for his work in Tamil cinema. He is the younger son of veteran actor Sivakumar and Lakshmi Sivakumar. Karthi holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Crescent Engineering College in Chennai and a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering from Binghamton University in New York.

During his time in New York, Karthi took a few lectures on films at New York State University, which sparked his curiosity in filmmaking. Upon his return, Karthi was offered a role in Mani Ratnam's film Aayitha Ezhuthu (2004), which he declined.

Karthi made his acting debut with the Tamil film Paruthiveeran (2007), starring Priyamani and Saravanan. He won several awards, including the Filmfare Award for Best Actor, the Vijay Award for Best Male Debut and Tamil Nadu State Film Special Prize for his performance.

Karthi received Best Actor nominations at the 58th Filmfare Awards South for his roles in Ayirathil Oruvan (2010), where he played a chief coolie alongside Reema Sen, and in Paiyaa (2010), where he portrayed an urban character alongside Tamannaah Bhatia and Milind Soman.

In 2010, Karthi starred in Naan Mahaan Alla (2010), a successful thriller directed by Suseenthiran. He also starred in Siruthai (2011), an action-masala film remake of the Telugu film Vikramarkudu (2006). In this movie, he played two roles, a thief, and a police officer, and received positive reviews. The film became one of the highest-grossing Tamil films of 2011 and cemented Karthi's position in the Tamil film industry.

Between 2011 and 2016, many of Karthi's films, including Saguni (2012), Alex Pandian (2013), All in All Azhagu Raja (2013), Oopiri (2016), and Kaashmora (2016), received mixed reviews. However, there were a few exceptions, Biriyani (2013), Madras (2014), and Komban (2015), which were critically acclaimed and were box office hits.

Karthi again partnered with Mani Ratnam, this time staring in his film, Kaatru Veliyidai (2017). His subsequent film Theeran Adhigaram Ondru (2017), directed by H. Vinoth, was an enormous success. Karthi received a Filmfare Award South for Best Actor - Critics for his performance in the film.

Right after Theeran Adhigaram Ondru (2017), Karthi acted in Pandiraj's successful film Kadaikutty Singam (2018), produced by his brother Suriya. He then starred in Dev (2019), directed by Rajath Ravishankar.

His next two films, Kaithi (2019) and Sulthan (2021), were box-office successes. In terms of box office performance, Kaithi (2019) was a major commercial success, grossing over Rs. 100 crores worldwide. He also starred in the commercially successful Viruman (2022), directed by M. Muthaiah.

Karthi was also a part of Mani Ratnam film Ponniyin Selvan: Part I (2022), where he plays Vallavaraiyan Vandiyadevan in his first Pan-Indian film. The movie also starred Vikram, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Ravi Mohan, Trisha Krishnan and Sobhita Dhulipala. His next movie Sardar (2022) Sardar (2022), saw him playing a double role.

Karthi married Ranjani Chinnasamy on July 3, 2011, in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. The couple has two children, a daughter named Umayaal (born in 2013) and a son named Kandhan (born in 2020).

Nandamuri Balakrishna is a leading actor and producer who works in Telugu cinema and is also a politician. He has acted in more than a hundred films. His father was N.T. Rama Rao, a legendary actor, and three-time Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. He is the uncle of N.T. Rama Rao Jr.. Balakrishna is colloquially known as Balayya, NBK, Natasimham, and Yugaratna.

Over the years, he has appeared in films like Janani Janmabhoomi (1984), Mangamma Gari Manavadu (1984), Pattabhishekham (1985), Muddula Krishnaiah (1986), Muvva Gopaludu (1987), Muddula Mavayya (1989), Lorry Driver (1993), Rowdy Inspector (1992), Bangaru Bullodu (1993), Peddannayya (1997), Sultan (1999), Goppinti Alludu (2000), Sri Rama Rajyam (2011), Jai Simha (2018), and Akhanda (2021), among others.

Balakrishna grew up in Chennai before moving to Hyderabad during his adolescent years. He was a student of the Nizam College in Hyderabad, where he received his Bachelor's Degree in Commerce.

He began his career in the film industry when he was 14. His debut film was Tatamma Kala (1974), in which he played the role of Balakrishna. His father, the late N. T. Rama Rao, played the lead role in the film.

As a child artiste, he appeared in a string of interesting films directed by various directors, such as Annadammula Anubandham (1975), Rowdy Ramudu Kinte Krishnudu (1980), Anuraga Devatha (1982), and Simham Navindi (1983), among others.

He also acted in various films directed by his father, such as Daana Veera Soora Karna (1977), Shrimad Virata Parvam (1979), Akbar Saleem Anarkali (1979), and Shri Tirupati Venkateswara Kalyanam (1979).

Balakrishna made his debut as a solo lead actor in 1984 in Saahasamey Jeevitham (1984), directed by Bharathi Vasu. In the same year, he appeared in another directorial venture of his father, Sri Madvirat Veera Brahmendra Swamy Charitra (1984), a biographical movie based on an Indian saint named Potuluri Veerabrahmendhra Swami Varu.

In K. Raghavendra Rao's action film Apoorva Sahodarulu (1986), Balakrishna acted in a dual role, which was the first among several other dual roles that he went on to play in his career.

A versatile actor, Balakrishna has portrayed various characters in his films, including an intelligence officer, a rowdy mechanic, a royal prince, a journalist, a smuggler, a sage from ancient times, an industrialist, a Hindu God, and a legendary actor.

He stepped into science fiction films with Aditya 369 (1991), directed by Singeetam Srinivasa Rao, which was the first Telugu film belonging to this genre. He played a dual role in this movie.

He appeared in the role of a warrior in Singeetam Srinivasa Rao's mythological fantasy film Bhairava Dweepam (1994). It became the second highest-grossing Telegu movie that year and won nine Nandi Awards.

In 1999, Balakrishna played the title role in Gopal B.'s action-drama film Samarasimha Reddy (1999). It became a commercial hit and started the trend of faction-themed movies in Telugu cinema. The film also gave a boost to Balakrishna's career.

In 2001, Balakrishna acted in Narasimha Naidu (2001), a vigilante action-drama movie directed by Gopal B. The film was commercially successful and broke many records at the box office. Balakrishna's performance in the film won him Nandi Award for Best Actor in 2001.

Balakrishna essayed triple roles in Adhinayakudu (2012), where he appeared in the characters of a grandfather, father, and son.

His appearance in faction dramas continued with films like Chenna Kesava Reddy (2002), Simha (2010), and Legend (2014). Balakrishna portrayed dual roles in all these three movies.

Simha, directed by Boyapati Srinu, became one of the highest-grossing Telugu films of 2010, and Balakrishna won the Nandi Award for Best Actor in 2010.

Legend (2014) was another movie that became a massive hit at the box office. Balakrishna won his third Nandi Award in 2014 under the Best Actor category for his performance in this film.

Gautamiputra Satakarni (2017) marked the 100th film of Balakrishna as an actor. It was an epic historical action film based on the life of the 2nd century AD ruler Gautamiputra Satakarni. The film was directed by Radha Krishna Jagarlamudi.

For his performance in this film, Balakrishna won the TSR - TV9 National Film Award for Best Actor (Telugu) in 2019. He also bagged the 7th South Indian International Movie Award for Critics' Choice Best Actor - Telugu in 2018.

In 2019, he appeared in NTR Kathanayakudu (2019), a biographical film based on his father's acting career. In the same year, he acted in NTR: Mahanayakudu (2019), another biographical film based on his father's political career.

He appeared in a dual role in Gopichand Malineni's action-drama film Veera Simha Reddy (2023), which earned Rs. 48 crores at the box office on the opening day.

Sudeep is an Indian film actor, director, producer, screenwriter, playback singer, anchor, and cricketer who works primarily in Kannada cinema. He won the Filmfare Award for Best Actor - Kannada for three consecutive years for his films Huchcha (2001), Nandhi (2002) and Swathi Muthu (2003). Since 2013, he is hosting the television reality show Bigg Boss in Kannada which only regional language holds other than Hindi.

Vijay Deverakonda named Deverakonda Vijay Sai at birth comes from a family of farmers who hail from Achampet in the Nagarkurnool district in Telangana. He is an Indian actor who works primarily in Telugu cinema.

Deverakonda studied up to the 10th standard at Sri Sathya Sai Higher Secondary School in Puttaparthi. After completing his Intermediate studies at the Little Flower Junior College in Hyderabad, he went on to do his graduation in commerce. After his graduation, he joined a theatre group called Sutradhar. His first play was Sherlock Home. The instant feedback and appreciation from the audience sparked his love for acting.

Deverakonda made his film debut with Nuvvila (2011), a romantic comedy directed by Ravi Babu. He played supporting roles in films like Life Is Beautiful (2012) and Who is Subramanyam? (2015). He was presented with a Special Jury Award at the Nandi Awards in 2017 for his supporting act in Yevade Subramanyam.

His break as a leading man came in Pelli Choopulu (2016). It was a romantic comedy directed by Tharun Bhascker Dhaassyam and had Ritu Varma playing the female lead opposite him.

Pelli Choopulu bagged the Filmfare Award for Best Film in 2016 - Telugu. At the 64th National Film Awards in 2016, it was declared the winner of the Best Feature Film in the Telugu category. His next lead role was in Srinivasa Ravindra's Dwaraka (2017), a comedy-drama film that had him pairing up with Pooja Jhaveri.

Deverakonda's portrayal of the title character in his next film Arjun Reddy (2017), received critical acclaim. His convincing act in the movie as a short-tempered, self-destructive, and alcoholic surgeon with anger management issues won him the Filmfare Award for Best Actor in 2018 - Telugu. The movie went on to become a box-office success. His performance in Arjun Reddy was listed among the 100 Greatest Performances of the Decade by Film Companion in 2019.

In 2018, his film Ye Mantram Vesave (2018) was released after a delay of around five years. But it failed to make any impact at the box office, and critics found the movie to be dated.

He went on to act in films like Mahanati (2018), Nota (2018), Geetha Govindam (2018) and Taxiwala (2018), which was a supernatural comedy thriller.

His acting in Geetha Govindam (2018) won him the Zee Cine Awards Telugu in 2019 under the Favourite Actor category. He also received the Critics' Choice Best Actor Award at the South Indian International Movie Awards (SIIMA) 2019.

Deverakonda next starred in a romantic action drama, Dear Comrade (2019), followed by the romantic drama World Famous Lover (2020). He played the lead role in Liger (2022), a bilingual sports action film directed by Puri Jagannadh and produced under the banner of Puri Connects and Dharma Productions.

He won the Youth Icon South (Male) Award at the South Indian International Movie Awards (SIIMA) in 2022. He ventured into production in 2019 and backed movies under the King of the Hill Entertainment banner. The banner has been involved in the production of films like Meeku Maathrame Chepta (2019) and Pushpaka Vimanam (2021).

He ranked 72nd in the 2018 list of Celebrity 100 released by Forbes India. And he was ranked at the 2nd position in 2020's list of The Times Most Desirable Men.