Rajendra Prasad

Some Lesser Known Facts About Rajendra Prasad

• Rajendra Prasad is an Indian actor, who predominantly appears in Telugu films. He gained recognition after appearing in various popular films like Erra Mandaram (1991), Madam (1994), Aa Nalugurum (2004), Onamalu (2013), Srimanthudu (2015), and many more.

• Inclined towards acting from a young age, Rajendra decided to pursue his career in acting, and consequently, he shifted to Madras from Andhra Pradesh to look for professional acting opportunities. While giving auditions to fetch a role in films, Rajendra met N. T. Rama Rao, the popular Indian actor, on the sets of the Telugu film Tatamma Kala in 1974. While meeting N. T. Rama Rao, he advised Rajendra to learn the basics of acting by joining an acting school, and eventually, Rajendra got himself admitted to the M.G.R. Government Film and Television Training Institute in Chennai.

  

• At the beginning of his career, Rajendra played supporting roles in many Telugu comedy films like Moodu Mulla Bandham (1980) as Murali, Manchu Pallaki (1982) as Hari, Kalavari Samsaram (1982) as Rajeev, Ramarajyamlo Bheemaraju (1983) as Satish, Adavalle Aligithe (1983) as Karthik, and many more.

• In 1986, Rajendra rose to popularity with his performance in the film Ladies Tailor in which he played the role of Sundaram.

  

• In 1987, Rajendra gained immense recognition for playing the role of Krishna Murthy in the film Aha Naa Pellant.

• Apart from acting in the films, Rajendra voiced a few songs in the Telugu films like “Muddula Kavalaena” from the film Teneteega (1991), “Jim Jim Jatara” from the film Family Circus (2001), “Chinni Krishnudochadu” from the film Ammaye Navvithe (2001), and “Fififee Fifeefee” from the film Gaali Sampath (2021).

• Later, Rajendra acted in several popular Telugu films like Yerra Mandaram (1991) as Ramudu, Mister Pellam (1993) as Balaji, Aa Naluguru (2004) as Raghuram, Bhagyalakshmi Bumper Draw (2006) as Bullabbai, Mee Sreyobhilashi (2007) as Rajaji, Julai (2012) as Sitaram, Onamalu (2013) as Narayana Rao, Climax (2021) as Vijay Modi, and many more.

  

• Along with acting, Rajendra produced the Telugu films Madam (1993) and Rambantu (1996).

• In 2000, Rajendra dubbed in his voice the character of Dr Kailash (played by the Indian actor Jayaram) in the Telugu dubbed version of the Tamil film Thenali.

• In 2003, Rajendra rendered his voice to the character Mangalam (played by the Indian actor Vivek) in the Telugu dubbed version of the Tamil film Boys. The same year, he produced the Kannada film Meese Chiguridaga (2003).

• On 13 June 2009, Rajendra was invited as a guest to walk the green carpet at the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards festival, which was held in Macau, China. Apparently, in any award show, a red carpet is laid to welcome and greet the dignitaries. However, the organisers of IIFA 2009 wanted to create awareness regarding global warming and its disastrous effects on the planet. Consequently, they arranged a green carpet and gave the honour of walking the carpet to Rajendra as his film Quick Gun Murugun promoted vegetarianism.

• The International School of Film and Media (ISFM) invited Rajendra to present certificates to the first batch of students of the acting course “Intro to Acting for Film, Television, and Theatre (IAFTT)” in March 2012.

• In December 2012, Bahrain’s Telugu Kala Samithi honoured Rajendra Prasad for his splendid contribution to the film industry.

  

• On 17 April 2015, Rajendra was elected as the president of the Movie Artists Association (MAA) after he defeated the potential candidate Jayasudha, who is an Indian actress, by a margin of 85 votes.

  

• Rajendra got enrolled in the same acting school, which had trained prominent actors like Rajinikanth and Chiranjeevi.

• Rajendra received the honour to inaugurate the State-level NSS Youth Festival at the Nannaya University in Andhra Pradesh on 30 January 2017.

• Rajendra, in an interview, stated that after receiving fame he was betrayed by his own family members for money and property and said,
  

  I have been cheated by many people in my life.. especially in the matter of money. No producer or director cheated me. I was deceived by my own people and blood relatives. All I got was no human beings. Because there are no people.. they have cheated. I have nothing left except a small complex in Bejawada Benz Circle.” ^[15]Telugu Samayam

• Sai Tejaswini, the granddaughter of Rajendra Prasad and daughter of Gayathri, played the role of young Savitri in the Telugu film Mahanati (2018).

  

• Reportedly, Rajendra Prasad’s daughter, Gayathri wanted to get married to the person of her choice. However, Rajendra was against her decision, and consequently, Gayathri left her father’s house and married the person of her choice. In an interview, Rajendra revealed that he was not on talking terms with his daughter after she left him and said,
  

  I have a Daughter named Gayatri. I stopped talking with her as she had gone away after Love Marriage. Upon listening to the song penned by Suddala Ashok Teja in ‘Bewars’, I felt like calling Gayatri to my home and make her listen to the song. ‘Thalli Thalli Na Chitti Thalli…Na Pranale Poyayamma’ Song is so close to my heart. I played this song 4 times repeatedly in the presence of My Daughter. I hadn’t shed tears when My Mom passed away but broke down when My Daughter left Me.”

• Reportedly, Rajendra Prasad’s films were immensely liked by the former Prime Minister of India P. V. Narasimha Rao. ^[16]iDream Telugu Movies – YouTube

• Rajendra was honoured with the title “Hasya Kireeti” by the Telugu Alliances of Canada at an event, which was held in Mississauga.