Actor, writer and director · Telugu cinema
Adivi Sesh
Adivi Sesh movies: 21 Telugu films on file (21 as actor, 6 as writer, 2 as director), 2002–2026. Earliest on file: Sontham (2002). Latest release: Dacoit: A Love Story (10 April 2026).
- Films on file
- 21 (21 as actor, 6 as writer, 2 as director)
- Years on file
- 2002–2026
- Born
- 17 December 1985 · December birthdays (Wikidata)
- Selected films on file
- Baahubali: The Beginning, O Baby! Yentha Sakkagunnave, Oopiri
- Record
- Q4683114 on Wikidata
Adivi Sesh (born Adivi Sesh Sunny Chandra, 17 December 1985) is an Indian actor, director and screenwriter who works in Telugu cinema. He is one of the few Telugu actors who regularly write the stories and screenplays of their own films, and is known for action and suspense thrillers such as Kshanam (2016), Goodachari (2018), Evaru (2019), Major (2022) and HIT: The Second Case (2022). His awards include an IIFA Utsavam award, a SIIMA Award, a Nandi Award and a Gaddar Award for Major.
Early life
Sesh was born in Hyderabad to Chandra Adivi, a doctor, and Bhavana Adivi. After some years at Padma Seshadri school in Chennai, he grew up in Berkeley, California, attending Berkeley High School and starting at San Francisco State University before dropping out. His cousin, Sai Kiran Adivi, is a film director.
Debut and villain roles
After a small guest role in Sontham (2002), he wrote, directed and starred in the romance Karma (2010), playing Dev, a man who can foresee events seconds before they happen. His first villain, the dangerous spoilt NRI Munna in Vishnuvardhan’s Panjaa (2011), was highly praised, and he played another antagonist in Balupu (2013). His second directorial film, Kiss, was a critical flop. He had supporting parts in Run Raja Run and S. S. Rajamouli’s Baahubali: The Beginning (2015), and led Ladies & Gentlemen and Dongaata.
Writer-star
Kshanam (2016), which he co-wrote with its director Ravikanth Perepu, made his name, and he then turned down more than fifty scripts. After cameos in Size Zero and Oopiri and a role in Ami Thumi, he wrote the spy thriller Goodachari, directed by Sashi Kiran Tikka, which was released on 3 August 2018 to positive reviews and became a major hit. The suspense thriller Evaru (2019) was also a hit, and in April 2020 he began scripting a sequel to Goodachari.
Major
Major, his biopic of Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, was released on 3 June 2022 and was a commercial hit that won several awards. The investigative drama HIT: The Second Case was another critical and box office success.
Recent films
In 2026 he starred in Shaneil Deo’s Dacoit: A Love Story, with Mrunal Thakur, Anurag Kashyap and Atul Kulkarni, released on 10 April 2026. Outside films, he has called for action against animal testing in research facilities.
Career on file
Adivi Sesh has 21 Telugu films on file at Tollywood Desk, dated from 2002 to 2026: 21 films as actor, six films as writer and two films as director. The earliest of them is Sontham (2002), and the most recent release is Dacoit: A Love Story (2026). Measured by how many Wikipedia language editions cover them, the best-known titles here are Baahubali: The Beginning (2015), O Baby! Yentha Sakkagunnave (2019) and Oopiri (2016). Other recent releases on file are Baahubali: The Epic (2025), HIT: The Third Case (2025) and HIT: The Second Case (2022).
Prakash Raj is the most frequent co-star, sharing five films with Adivi Sesh, followed by Vennela Kishore (4) and Anushka Shetty (3). Among directors, Sailesh Kolanu, S. S. Rajamouli and Sashi Kiran Tikka each cast Adivi Sesh in two films, more than any other director. Music on four of them is by Sricharan Pakala, with M. M. Keeravani (3) and Mickey J. Meyer (2) next. PVP Cinema produced four of them, more than any other banner on file. Across these films the credits on file name 16 different directors, 21 music directors and 67 other credited actors.
Runtime is on file for 17 of them; they average 148 minutes, and the longest is Baahubali: The Epic at 225 minutes. 11 of them have a streaming (OTT) release noted on the site. By decade the list splits into 2000s (1), 2010s (15) and 2020s (5). 2015 is the busiest single year, with four films.
Figures come from the films on file at Tollywood Desk and change as records are added.