The actor-politician, ‘Rebel Star’ of Tollywood Krishnam Raju who was last seen in ‘Radhe Shyam’ passed away at the age of 83 in the wee hours of Sunday, 11th September. He is survived by his wife and three daughters. Actor Prabhas is his nephew.
Krishnam Raju is the first actor of Tollywood to be called as “Rebel Star” for his rebellious acting style. He has acted more than 190 movies in his career in the film industry. He played a variety of roles in the movies.
Krishnam Raju was also the first actor to be called as “Angry Young Man of Tollywood” befor Dr Rajasekhar took the title.
He was a photojournalist before entering into the film industry. He was awarded the Second Best Photographer in state level.
He won five Filmfare Awards South and three state Nandi Awards.
Krishnam Raju was also a professional agriculturalist who owned lot of farming land in west Godavari.
Krishnam Raju joined BJP- Bharatiya Janata Party and was elected to the 12th and 13th Lok Sabha from Kakinada and Narasapuram constituencies. In 2009 2009, he joined Praja Rajyam Party, founded by megastar Chiranjeevi In the 2009 general elections he contested for MP seat from Rajahmundry constituency and lost.
He also served as a Minister of State for Ministry of External Affairs .