Actor and producer · Telugu cinema
Kota Srinivasa Rao
Kota Srinivasa Rao movies: 356 Telugu films on file (356 as actor, 1 as producer), 1978–2025. Earliest on file: Pranam Khareedu (1978). Latest release: Hari Hara Veera Mallu (24 July 2025).

- Films on file
- 356 (356 as actor, 1 as producer)
- Years on file
- 1978–2025
- Born
- 10 July 1942 · July birthdays (Wikidata)
- Died
- 13 July 2025
- Selected films on file
- Yevadu, S/O Satyamurthy, Dookudu
- Record
- Q6433821 on Wikidata
Kota Srinivasa Rao (10 July 1942 – 13 July 2025) was an Indian actor and politician who worked mainly in Telugu cinema and theatre, with a few films in Tamil, Hindi, Kannada and Malayalam. Over more than four decades he appeared in over 750 feature films, known for his versatility, voice modulation and memorable villains and comic roles. He won nine Nandi Awards, a SIIMA Award for Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum, and the Padma Shri in 2015, and served as MLA for Vijayawada East from 1999 to 2004.
Early life
Kota Srinivasa Rao was born in Kankipadu, in present-day Andhra Pradesh, to Seetha Rama Anjaneyulu, a doctor. He first hoped to follow his father into medicine, but his love of acting won out. He acted in plays at college, earned a B.Sc., and worked at the State Bank before entering films. His younger brother, Kota Sankara Rao, is also an actor, mainly in television serials.
Film career
His film debut came with Pranam Khareedu in 1978. Across the following decades he won wide acclaim in a huge range of films, among them Pratighatana (1985), which brought a Nandi Special Jury Award, Repati Pourulu (1986), Aha Naa Pellanta (1987), Siva (1989), Money (1993), Hello Brother (1994), Anaganaga Oka Roju (1997), Idiot (2002), Malliswari (2004), Athadu (2005), Bommarillu (2006), Leader (2010), Attarintiki Daredi (2013) and S/O Satyamurthy (2015).
Awards
His Nandi Awards included Best Villain for Gaayam (1993), Teerpu (1994), Ganesh (1998) and Chinna; Best Character Actor for Little Soldiers (1996), Aa Naluguru (2004) and Pellaina Kothalo (2006); and Best Supporting Actor for Prudhvi Narayana (2002). He won the SIIMA Award for Best Supporting Actor for Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum (2012), and also received the Allu Ramalingaiah Puraskaram.
Politics
Alongside acting, Rao served as the Member of the Legislative Assembly for Vijayawada East in Andhra Pradesh from 1999 to 2004.
Final years and legacy
His last film appearance was in Hari Hara Veera Mallu, released in 2025. He died at his home in Film Nagar, Hyderabad, on 13 July 2025, three days after his 83rd birthday. Tributes came from across the industry: S. S. Rajamouli called him a master of his craft, and his longtime co-star Chiranjeevi said his range and voice modulation were unmatched. He was married to Rukmini from 1965, and they had two daughters and a son.
Career on file
Kota Srinivasa Rao has 356 Telugu films on file at Tollywood Desk, dated from 1978 to 2025: 356 films as actor and one film as producer. The earliest of them is Pranam Khareedu (1978), and the most recent release is Hari Hara Veera Mallu (2025). Measured by how many Wikipedia language editions cover them, the best-known titles here are Yevadu (2014), S/O Satyamurthy (2015) and Dookudu (2011). Other recent releases on file are Konda Polam (2021), Aaradugula Bullet (2021) and Power Play (2021).
Brahmanandam is the most frequent co-star, sharing 174 films with Kota Srinivasa Rao, followed by Kaikala Satyanarayana (41) and Chandra Mohan (40). Among directors, E. V. V. Satyanarayana cast Kota Srinivasa Rao most often, in 27 films; next are S. V. Krishna Reddy (21) and K. Raghavendra Rao (14). Music on 34 of them is by Mani Sharma, with M. M. Keeravani (29) and Koti (27) next. Suresh Productions produced ten of them, more than any other banner on file. Across these films the credits on file name 161 different directors, 82 music directors and 405 other credited actors.
Runtime is on file for 257 of them; they average 147 minutes, and the longest is Bahumati at 194 minutes. 35 of them have a streaming (OTT) release noted on the site. By decade the list splits into 1970s (1), 1980s (38), 1990s (130), 2000s (104), 2010s (79) and 2020s (4). 2010 is the busiest single year, with 19 films.
Figures come from the films on file at Tollywood Desk and change as records are added.