Actor and producer · Telugu cinema
Mohan Babu
Mohan Babu movies: 118 Telugu films on file (113 as actor, 21 as producer), 1975–2026. Earliest on file: Swargam Narakam (1975). Latest release: The Paradise (24 September 2026).
- Films on file
- 118 (113 as actor, 21 as producer)
- Years on file
- 1975–2026
- Born
- 19 March 1952 · March birthdays (Wikidata)
- Record
- Q3635516 on Wikidata
Mohan Babu (born Manchu Bhakthavatsalam Naidu) is an Indian actor, film producer and educator who works mainly in Telugu cinema. A graduate of the Madras Film Institute, he has acted in more than 500 films in lead, supporting and villain roles, and has produced around 40 films. His honours include the Padma Shri (2007), the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Telugu for Pedarayudu (1995) and the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award – South. He founded the Sree Vidyanikethan Educational Trust and is chancellor of Mohan Babu University in Tirupati.
Early life
Mohan Babu was born to Manchu Narayanaswamy Naidu and Manchu Lakshmamma in Modhugulapalem village near Tirupati. Before films he worked for many years as a physical education instructor at the YMCA College of Physical Education.
Villain and star
Through the writer Dasari Narayana Rao, who became his mentor, he got his first major break as a villain in Dasari’s Swargam Narakam (1975), after which his screen name was changed to Mohan Babu. Sivaranjani (1978) established his screen villain and mannerisms, and he played a wide range of roles in films such as Padaharella Vayasu, Billa Ranga (both 1978), Patnam Vachina Pativrathalu (1982) and Dharma Poratam (1983). After many comic-villain roles he became a leading man in films including Khaidi Kalidasu, Assembly Rowdy and Allari Mogudu.
Producer
An admirer of N. T. Rama Rao, he produced Major Chandrakanth (1993), directed by K. Raghavendra Rao and starring NTR and himself; it was a major blockbuster and NTR’s last film. He co-owns Sree Lakshmi Prasanna Pictures, 24 Frames Factory and Manchu Entertainment. Later he wrote the screenplay for Son of India (2022), produced by his son Vishnu Manchu, and produced Kannappa, which failed at the box office. In 2007 he won a CineMAA Award for Best Supporting Actor for Yamadonga.
Education
He established the Sree Vidyanikethan Educational Trust in 1993, which runs schools and colleges in engineering, pharmacy, nursing and management, and in January 2022 these became Mohan Babu University. He has received honorary doctorates from the University of California, Berkeley, and Dr. MGR University.
Family and milestones
His children, Lakshmi Manchu, Vishnu Manchu and Manchu Manoj, are all actors. In December 2025 he marked 50 years in films with a celebration called MB50, and a book of his popular dialogues, Dialogue King, was published.
Career on file
Mohan Babu has 118 Telugu films on file at Tollywood Desk, dated from 1975 to 2026: 113 films as actor and 21 films as producer. The earliest of them is Swargam Narakam (1975), and the most recent release is The Paradise (2026). The most widely covered of these, counted by Wikipedia language editions, are Mahanati (2018), Yamadonga (2007) and Kannappa (2025). Other recent releases on file are Srinivasa Mangapuram (2026), Daksha (2025) and Ginna (2022).
Brahmanandam is the most frequent co-star, sharing 29 films with Mohan Babu, followed by Kaikala Satyanarayana (28) and Allu Rama Lingaiah (24). Among directors, K. Raghavendra Rao cast Mohan Babu most often, in 22 films; next are Dasari Narayana Rao (19) and A. Kodandarami Reddy (5). Music on 26 of them is by K. Chakravarthy, with K. V. Mahadevan (13) and M. M. Keeravani (8) next. Sri Lakshmi Prasanna Pictures produced 11 of them, more than any other banner on file. Across these films the credits on file name 65 different directors, 38 music directors and 182 other credited actors.
Runtime is on file for 75 of them; they average 147 minutes, and the longest is Kannappa at 182 minutes. Nine of them have a streaming (OTT) release noted on the site. By decade the list splits into 1970s (22), 1980s (43), 1990s (22), 2000s (13), 2010s (12) and 2020s (6). 1988 is the busiest single year, with nine films.
Figures come from the films on file at Tollywood Desk and change as records are added.