Actor, producer and writer · Telugu cinema
Vishnu Manchu
Vishnu Manchu movies: 27 Telugu films on file (23 as actor, 8 as producer, 3 as writer), 2003–2025. Earliest on file: Vishnu (2003). Latest release: Kannappa (27 June 2025).
- Films on file
- 27 (23 as actor, 8 as producer, 3 as writer)
- Years on file
- 2003–2025
- Born
- 23 November 1981 · November birthdays (Wikidata)
- Selected films on file
- Kannappa, Pandavulu Pandavulu Tummeda, Gayatri
- Record
- Q7935972 on Wikidata
Vishnu Manchu (born Manchu Vishnuvardhan Babu, 23 November 1981) is an Indian actor, film producer and educationist who works in Telugu cinema and television. The son of Mohan Babu, he won the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut for Vishnu (2003) and established himself with the hit comedy Dhee (2007). Since 2021 he has been president of the Movie Artists Association, and he co-owns the production house 24 Frames Factory.
Early life
Vishnu was born in Madras to Mohan Babu and Vidya Devi and grew up with his sister Lakshmi and half-brother Manoj. He studied at Padmaseshadri Bala Bhavan School and took an engineering degree in computer science and IT at Sree Vidyanikethan Engineering College, where he played university cricket and captained the basketball team.
Debut and Dhee
He first appeared as a child in his father’s Ragile Gundelu (1985). His first lead role, in Shaji Kailas’s Vishnu (2003), won him the Filmfare debut award, and he followed it with Suryam (2004), Astram (2006) and Game (2006), with his father. His breakthrough was Dhee (2007), opposite Genelia D’Souza, his first commercial success, which was remade in Tamil, Bengali and Odia.
Later films
The comedy Dhenikaina Ready (2012) was a hit that changed his image, and in Doosukeltha, opposite Lavanya Tripathi, he played the title role. He was part of the ensemble comedy Pandavulu Pandavulu Tummeda (2014), which he produced, played Krishna alongside his father in Ram Gopal Varma’s hit Rowdy (2014), and a DCP in Varma’s acclaimed Anukshanam. Later films included Deva Katta‘s Dynamite, the comedy Eedo Rakam Aado Rakam with Raj Tarun, Gayatri (2018) and Achari America Yatra. Mosagallu (2021), about a major IT scam, was an average performer, and Ginna (2022) did poorly.
Kannappa
He announced his dream project Kannappa in August 2023, co-produced with his father, and presented its teaser at Cannes in 2024.
Movie Artists Association and other work
In October 2021 he defeated Prakash Raj to become president of the Movie Artists Association. He directed the 100th episode of the Zee Telugu series Happy Days, heads the post-production firm ThinkSmart, runs the Sree Vidyanikethan Educational Trust, founded the Spring Board and New York Academy schools, and is pro-chancellor of Mohan Babu University. He married Viranica Reddy in 2009, and they have four children.
Career on file
Vishnu Manchu has 27 Telugu films on file at Tollywood Desk, dated from 2003 to 2025: 23 films as actor, eight films as producer and three films as writer. The earliest of them is Vishnu (2003), and the most recent release is Kannappa (2025). The most widely covered of these, counted by Wikipedia language editions, are Kannappa (2025), Pandavulu Pandavulu Tummeda (2014) and Gayatri (2018). Other recent releases on file are Ginna (2022), Son of India (2022) and Mosagallu (2021).
Brahmanandam is the most frequent co-star, sharing 13 films with Vishnu Manchu, followed by Mohan Babu (8) and Kota Srinivasa Rao (7). Among directors, G. Nageswara Reddy cast Vishnu Manchu most often, in three films; next is Ram Gopal Varma (2). Music on four of them is by Achu Rajamani, with Chakri (3) and Mani Sharma (2) next. 24 Frames Factory produced 13 of them, more than any other banner on file. Across these films the credits on file name 24 different directors, 17 music directors and 65 other credited actors.
Runtime is on file for 20 of them; they average 141 minutes, and the longest is Kannappa at 182 minutes. Six of them have a streaming (OTT) release noted on the site. By decade the list splits into 2000s (8), 2010s (15) and 2020s (4). 2014 is the busiest single year, with five films.
Figures come from the films on file at Tollywood Desk and change as records are added.