Krishnam Raju

KRISHNAM RAJU:

Uppalapati Venkata Krishnam Raju is a former popular Telugu film actor Tollywood. He is the uncle of New generation actor Prabhas.

Krishnam Raju starred in more than 183 Telugu films in his career and was a prominent actor of the 1970s and 1980s in Tollywood.

After late 1990's he became active in politics. He joined Bharatiya Janata Party and was elected to Lok Sabha from Narasapur. He served as a minister of state for external affairs in the Third Vajpayee Ministry from 1999 to 2004.

Profile:

* Father’s Name - Late Shri U V V  Satyanarayana Raju
* Date of Birth - 20 January 1940
* Place of Birth - Mogaltur, Distt. West Godavari (Andhra Pradesh)
* Marital Status - Married
* Date of Marriage - 20 September 1996
* Spouse’s Name - Smt. U. Shyamala Devi
* No. of Daughters - Three
* Educational - Under Graduate
* Qualifications -
* Profession - Agriculturist, Artist and Former Ruler
* Permanent Address - Vill. Mogaltur, Mandal Narasapur, Dist. 
   West Godavari-505 209, Andhra Pradesh.

Positions Held:

* 1998 Elected to 12th Lok Sabha
* 1998-99 Member, Committee on Commerce Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
* 1999 Re-elected to 13th Lok Sabha (2nd term)Whip, B.J.P. Parliamentary Party, Lok Sabha
* 1999-2000 Member, Committee on Finance Member, Committee on Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme
* 2000 Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Commerce and Industry
* 30 Sept 2000- Union Minister of State, Ministry of External Affairs 22 July 2001
* 22 July 2001- Union Minister of State, Ministry of Defence 30 June 2002
* 1 July 2002 - Union Minister of State, Ministry of Consumer Affairs , Food onwards & Public Distribution Literary

Artistic and Scientific Accomplishments:

Research in yoga, Hinduism and Culture; as film actor, in Telugu won several awards

* Social and Cultural Activities

Worked for the relief of cyclone affected people; collected funds for the rehabilitation of families of police personnel; and instrumental in establishing open air theatres at Nellore, Ellore and Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh

* Special Interests

Welfare of the people

* Favourite Pastimeand Recreation

Reading, studying rural folk, religious rituals, educating people and sports and games

* Sports and Clubs

Kabaddi and volleyball; selected for national games in Kabaddi and was a renowned inter-collegiate volleyball player

President, Telugu Artists Association for 18 years; educating rural masses and making them aware of fiscal, academic and political policies; and actively engaged in Sangh Pariwar activities

He is an all-round star––action king and ‘rebel star’ on the silver screen; a Pole Star on the political horizon; and a hero not only in reel life but also in real life. He is none other than U Krishnam Raju. He achieved what no other film star could ever dream of––being a Minister of State first in the External Affairs Ministry and now in the Defence Ministry. He proved to be the right choice for such an onerous job by virtue of his exceptional qualities and exemplary efficiency at work. Behind this tall, towering and fiery personality is a calm, concerned and genuine human being.

Born in Mogalthuru, a small hamlet of the rich West Godavari district on 20th January, 1940, Krishnam Raju entered the film industry soon after his graduation. His very first film––Chilaka Gorinka, directed by Pratyagatma and co-starring Krishnakumari–– bagged the prestigious Silver Nandi Award. Though he entered films as a villain, he metamorphosed into a full-fledged ‘hero’ within a short period. He left his mark as a powerful actor in his 34-year long film career. His persona was so multi-faceted and his talent so exceptional that some roles were actually created for him.

Many in the industry believe that Krishnam Raju alone can suit certain roles. He played a variety of roles in Krishnaveni, Bhaktha Kannappa, Amara Deepam, Mana Voori Pandavulu, Katakatala Rudraiah, Seetha Ramulu, Thrishoolam, Bobbili Bhahmanna, Tandra Paparayudu, etc. He could enact a pious role as elegantly as he did that of an angry young man or a historical character. Recognition for his histrionics came in the form of the President’s Award and Filmfare Award for Amaradeepam and Mana Voori Pandavulu.

Later, he entered the film production field and brought out many successful films under the banner Gopikrishna. He also produced a Hindi film Dharmadhikari starring stalwarts such as Dilip Kumar. He is widely considered as a master producer. Krishnam Raju is an optimist to the core. He is untiring in his pursuits and accepts success and failure with equanimity. In his long journey from Mogalthuru village to the national capital, he always exhibited dedication, honesty and hard work in whatever work he took up. No wonder he has a huge fan following as much in politics as in the film industry.

Krishnam Raju is a versatile personality. Not many people may know that he was once a journalist; he worked as a reporter for the Andhra Patrika. Apart from producing films, he also turned industrialist with his Gopi Krishna Granites, through which he provided employment to hundreds of people. He passionately participates in many social service programmes. Krishnam Raju played a crucial role in launching the open-air theatres in the towns of Vijayawada, Eluru and Nellore. He was a hero in real life too; he stood by the needy people and donated huge amounts to those afflicted by famine, natural calamities, disturbances, and so on. The film industry recognised his leadership qualities by unanimously electing him thrice as president of the Cine Artistes Society.

Krishnam Raju’s shift from filmdom to politics also left commendable records. He contested an unsuccessful election in 1992 for the Narasapuram Lok Sabha seat on a Congress ticket. After a brief hibernation, he rejoined politics, accepting an invitation from the Bharatiya Janata Party. He won the 1998 Lok Sabha election from Kakinada. He set a record with a thumping majority of over 165,000 votes––the maximum majority as compared to any of the 42 other constituencies in AP–– which ensured him a berth at the Centre. He was in the advisory committees of the Information & Broadcasting, and Commerce Ministries during 1998-99.

Born in the motherland of Alluri Sitarama Raju, the great freedom fighter, Krishnam Raju continues to forge ahead with his lasting smile and service, daring and dedicated as Alluri himself. At 61, Krishnam Raju rejuvenates himself with twice-a-day yoga session. He is into transcendental meditation and says that with meditation one can be as active with just two hours of sleep instead of the usual eight hours. He believes that the body is a slave to the mind and that no medicine is more powerful than a controlled mind. He is a voracious reader and takes keen interest in spiritual writings.