Narasimha Raju (Telugu actor)

Narasimha Raju or Narasimharaju is a Telugu film and television actor.^[1] He rose to the heights of stardom with his movies Needaleni Adadi (1974), Thoorpu Padamara (1976), Kanya-Kumari (1977), Idekkadi Nyayam (1977), and Jaganmohini (1978). He is considered the folk hero of the generation next to the likes of N. T. Rama Rao and Kanta Rao.^[2] He is also known by the moniker Andhra Kamal Haasan.^[1]

Raju made his debut as an actor in 1974 with the film Needa Leni Aadadi. It is also the debut film for actress Prabha. The film ran for a hundred days and was commercially successful. Raju started getting offers for roles from other directors.

The film Jaganmohini (1978), directed by B. Vittalacharya, in which Raju plays the main character became a blockbuster. Later, he acted in such films as Gandharva Kanya, Mantradandam, Mohini Sapatham, all directed by Vittalacharya. He also worked with other directors as a folklore hero in films like Triloka Sundari (1980), directed by Singeetam Srinivasa Rao. Raju acted in about 100 films in two decades. He is now active in Tamil television serials.