Actor · Telugu cinema
Srihari
Srihari movies: 70 Telugu films on file, 1987–2025. Earliest on file: Brahma Nayudu (1987). Latest release: Court: State vs a Nobody (14 March 2025).
- Films on file
- 70 (70 as actor)
- Years on file
- 1987–2025
- Born
- 15 August 1964 · August birthdays (Wikidata)
- Died
- 9 October 2013
- Selected films on file
- Magadheera, Rajakumarudu, Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana
- Record
- Q7586371 on Wikidata
Srihari (15 August 1964 – 9 October 2013) was an Indian actor who worked mainly in Telugu cinema, with some Tamil, Kannada and Hindi films. Starting out as a stunt fighter, he went on to play villains, heroes and supporting characters, and won seven Nandi Awards and a Filmfare Award.
Early life
Srihari was born in Elamarru, near Gudivada in Krishna district, Andhra Pradesh. His family moved to Balanagar in Hyderabad when he was a child, and he worked as a newspaper boy and a milkman. He was a gymnast, and turned down offers of jobs as a police sub-inspector and a railway officer because he wanted to act. He completed his degree in 1986.
Into films
He began his film career as a stunt fighter. Dasari Narayana Rao gave him his first acting role, in Brahma Nayudu (1987).
Awards
Srihari won the Nandi Award for Best Villain for Taj Mahal (1995), and Nandi Special Jury Awards for Sri Ramulayya (1998), Police and Ramasakkanodu (1999), and Vijayaramaraju (2000). His role in Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana (2005) brought him both the Nandi Award and the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor – Telugu, and Hanumanthu (2006) won the Sarojini Devi Award for a Film on National Integration.
Family and charity
In 1996 he married the actress Shanti, known as Disco Shanti. The family’s Akshara Foundation worked to supply fluoride-free drinking water to three villages he adopted in Ranga Reddy district, and he gave over half of his earnings to the cause; he also adopted four villages in Medchal. His son Meghamsh made his acting debut in Rajdhooth (2019).
Death
Srihari fell ill while shooting the Hindi film R… Rajkumar and died at Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai on 9 October 2013, at the age of 49.
Career on file
Srihari appears in 70 Telugu films on file at Tollywood Desk, dated from 1987 to 2025. The earliest of them is Brahma Nayudu (1987), and the most recent release is Court: State vs a Nobody (2025). The most widely covered of these, counted by Wikipedia language editions, are Magadheera (2009), Rajakumarudu (1999) and Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana (2005). Other recent releases on file are Rough (2014), Yuddham (2014) and Jagadguru Adi Shankara (2013).
Brahmanandam is the most frequent co-star, sharing 30 films with Srihari, followed by Kota Srinivasa Rao (23) and Kaikala Satyanarayana (10). Among directors, K. Raghavendra Rao cast Srihari most often, in eight films; next are E. V. V. Satyanarayana (7) and Dasari Narayana Rao (4). Music on ten of them is by M. M. Keeravani, with Koti (9) and Vandemataram Srinivas (7) next. Suresh Productions produced five of them, more than any other banner on file. Across these films the credits on file name 38 different directors, 30 music directors and 148 other credited actors.
Runtime is on file for 51 of them; they average 148 minutes, and the longest is Sri Ramulayya at 180 minutes. Four of them have a streaming (OTT) release noted on the site. By decade the list splits into 1980s (3), 1990s (43), 2000s (12), 2010s (11) and 2020s (1).
Figures come from the films on file at Tollywood Desk and change as records are added.