Gundu Sudarshan

Gundu Sudarshan (born Surampudi Sudarshan Rao) is an Indian comedian and actor in Telugu films. He has appeared in more than 350 films and has acted on stage since the age of 10. A civil engineer with a PhD, he taught engineering before becoming a full-time actor. Much of his early work came through the director Bapu.

Early life

Sudarshan grew up in Bhimavaram, West Godavari district, where his father was an advocate. He watched mythological plays as a child and first acted in the seventh standard, as the disciple in the stage play Mondi Guruvu Banda Sishyudu.

Education and teaching

He earned a B.Tech in Civil Engineering from REC Allahabad and an M.Tech from REC Surathkal. He later took a PhD in Civil Engineering at Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad, and also holds a degree in psychology. He was a lecturer at SRKR Engineering College in Bhimavaram before acting full time.

Working with Bapu

Through the writer Sriramana, he was introduced to Bapu, who cast him in the comedy serial Navvite Navvandi and later as Chandamarkulu in the ETV serial Bhagavatam. His first film role was Ganapati, Srinatha’s cook, in Bapu’s Srinatha Kavi Sarvabhowmudu, alongside N. T. Rama Rao.

Mister Pellam

The first of his films to be released, however, was Mister Pellam (1993), in which he played two roles. His line “Antha Vishnu Maya” became popular. He then acted in Rambantu and Ramasakkanodu, travelling to Hyderabad for shoots while keeping his lecturing job.

Second innings

After five years, he moved to Hyderabad for his PhD, which let him focus more on films. His second innings began with Teja’s Chitram (2000). On television he played Chitragupta and wrote the scripts for 40 episodes of the mythological show Chittam Chittam Prayaschittam. He has also appeared on shows such as Bhale Chance le and Nuvvu Nenu.

Sources: Wikipedia and Wikidata.