Krishnam Raju Height, Age, Death, Girlfriend, Wife, Family, Biography & More

Bio/Wiki
Full name	Uppalapati Venkata Krishnam Raju [1]The Times of India
Names Earned	Rebel Star [2]The Times of India
Profession(s)	Actor, Politician
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	in centimeters- 178 cm in meters- 1.78 m in feet & inches- 5’ 10”
Eye Colour	Black
Hair Colour	Black
Career
Debut	Film (Telugu): Chilaka Gorinka (1966)
Last Film	Telugu: Rudhramadevi (2015) as Ganapati Devudu Hindi: Radhe Shyam (2022) as Paramahamsa
Awards, Honours, Achievements	Filmfare Awards South • Best Actor - Telugu - Amaradeepam (1977) • Best Actor - Telugu - Bobbili Brahmanna (1984) • Best Actor - Telugu - Tandra Paparayudu (1986) • Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award (2006) Nandi Awards • Best Actor (1977) for the film Amara Deepam • Best Actor (1984) for the film Bobbili Brahmanna • Best Character Actor (1994) for the film Jailor Gaari Abbayi TSR TV9 National Awards • Lifetime Achievement Award (2012) • Legend Actor of Silver Screen (2015) • 5 Decades Star Award (2016) Others • Raghupathi Venkaiah Naidu Award (2014) • Lifetime Achievement Award at Zee Telugu Awards (2015) • Lifetime Achievement Award at Gulf Andhra Musical Awards (GAMA) (2015)
Politics
Political Party	• Indian National Congress (INC) (1991-1998) • Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) (March 2009-July 2009) • Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) (1998-2009; 2014-2022)
Political Journey	• Contested and lost the Narasapuram Lok Sabha constituency in 1991 on a ticket from the INC • Elected as MP from Kakinada Lok Sabha constituency in 1998 on a ticket from the BJP • Member of Committee on Commerce (1998-1999) • Member of Consultative Committee on Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (1998-1999) • Elected as MP from Narasapuram Lok Sabha constituency 1999 on a ticket from the BJP • Appointed as Whip in B.J.P. Parliamentary Party, Lok Sabha in 1999 • Member of Committee on Finance (1999-2000) • Member of Committee on Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (1999-2000) • Member of Consultative Committee on Ministry of Commerce and Industry (2000) • Union Minister of State, Ministry of External Affairs (30 September 2000-21 July 2001) • Union Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (22 July 2001-30 June 2002) • Union Minister of State, Ministry of Consumer Affairs , Food & Public Distribution (1 July 2002-28 January 2003) • Union Minister of State, Ministry of Rural Development (appointed on 29 January 2003) • Contested and lost Rajahmundry Lok Sabha constituency in 2009 on a ticket from the PRP • Rejoined BJP in 2014
Personal Life
Date of Birth	20 January 1940 (Saturday)
Birthplace	Mogalturu, West Godavari, Andhra Pradesh
Date of Death	11 September 2022
Place of Death	Asian Institute of Gastroenterology Hospitals, Hyderabad, Telangana
Age (at the time of death)	82 Years
Death Cause	Cardiac arrest following a month's hospitalization for severe pneumonia and post-COVID-19 complications [3]Deccan Chronicle
Zodiac sign	Aquarius
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Mogalturu, West Godavari, Andhra Pradesh
Educational Qualification	Undergraduate [4]Thirteenth Lok Sabha Members Bioprofile
Caste	Kshatriya [5]News18 Telugu
Food Habit	Non-vegetarian [6]Sakshi
Address	114, M.L.A. Colony, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
Hobbies	Reading, Studying rural folk, Undertaking religious rituals
Relationships & More
Marital Status (at the time of death)	Married
Marriage Date	20 September 1996 Note: On the above mentioned date, he got married to his second wife U. Shyamala Devi.
Family
Wife/Spouse	• Seetha Devi (deceased) • U. Shyamala Devi
Children	Son- None Daughter- Sai Praseeda, Sai Pradeepti, Sai Prakeerti Note: His all three daughters are from his second wife, Syamala Devi.
Parents	Father- Uppalapati Veera Venkata Satyanarayana Raju (deceased) Mother- Name Not Known
Siblings	Brother (younger)- Uppalapati Surya Narayana Raju (deceased) (film producer)
Others	Nephew: Prabhas (actor), Siddharth Rajkumar (actor)
Money Factor
Assets/Properties	Movable Assets • Cash: Rs 1,00,472 • Deposits in Banks, Financial Institutions and Non-Banking Financial Companies: Rs 7,28,560 • Bonds, Debentures and Shares in companies: Rs 62,40,511 • Motor Vehicles: Rs 25,10,000 • Jewellery: Rs 43,31,081 Immovable Assets • Agricultural Land: Rs 65,37,500 • Non Agricultural Land: Rs 1,24,79,110 • Buildings: Rs 5,33,33,200 Note: The given estimates of movable and immovable assets are according to the year 2009. [7]My Neta
Net Worth (as of 2009)	Rs 6,48,31,733 [8]My Neta

Some Lesser Known Facts About Krishnam Raju

• Krishnam Raju was an Indian actor and politician who is known for starring in various popular Telugu films like Amara Deepam (1977), Mana Voori Pandavulu  (1978), and Bobbili Brahmanna (1984). In the late 1990s, he became active in politics. During his five-and-a-half decade-long film career, he acted in 183 films and went by the name ‘Rebel Star’ due to his rebellious acting style.

• Growing up, he was a keen sportsperson who was fond of playing kabaddi and volleyball.  He was a renowned inter-collegiate volleyball player and was selected for national games in Kabaddi.

• Krishnam Raju worked as a journalist for the Indian freedom fighter Andhra Ratna (Duggirala Gopalakrishnayya). He was awarded the Second Best Photographer at the state level.

• In 1966, he ventured into the entertainment industry with the Nandi Award-winning Telugu film Chilaka Gorinka. Although the film won Nandi Award for Best Feature Film – Silver, it did not produce the expected results at the box office.

• He came into the limelight when he played an antagonist named Anand in the Telugu film Nenante Nene (1968) alongside Kanchana. In the film, Anand imposters Rajkumar to inherit the property of his deceased father.
  

  Nenante Nene (1968)

• Although Krishnam Raju was reluctant to play a negative role at first, he took the role in Nenante Nene (1968) upon being advised by his peers and co-actors to gain exposure to a diversified character. His portrayal of the role set the trend of handsome villains in the industry.

• He played the protagonist Arjuna/Kannappa in the Telugu mythological film Bhakta Kannappa (1976), which went on to win the National Film Award for Best Audiography.  The film was  produced under his own banner ‘GopiKrishna.’
  

  Krishnam Raju as Arjuna/Kannappa in Bhakta Kannappa (1976)

• In 1978, he appeared in another prominent film of his career Manavoori Pandavulu in which he played the protagonist Krishna, who brings together an unlikely group of 5 youngsters to oppose their village sarpanch Rambhoopal’s cruel deeds. The film went on to earn Filmfare Best Film Award (Telugu) in 1978.
  

  Manavoori Pandavulu (1978)

• His films Manavoori Pandavulu (1978) and Katakatala Rudraiah (1978) were released within a span of 10 days. Interestingly, both films went on to become silver jubilee films.

• He entered the political arena on a Congress ticket in the general elections in 1992 when he contested and lost the Narasapuram Lok Sabha seat.

• In 1977, he rose to popularity with the Telugu drama film Amara Deepam in which he played the role of Hari/Shri Krishna for which he bagged the Filmfare Best Actor Award (Telugu) and Nandi Award for Best Actor in the same year.

• In the 1998 general elections, he contested the Kakinada Lok Sabha constituency on a ticket from the BJP and won the election by a thumping majority of 1.65 lakh votes with the support from the prominent Kapu leader Mudragada Padmanabham.

• When his silver screen colleague Chiranjeevi launched the Praja Rajyam Party in 2009, Raju joined the party.
  

  Krishnam Raju posing with PRP chief Chiranjeevi after joining the Praja Rajyam in Hyderabad in 2009

• In an interview, he revealed that used to go hunting in a forest and had hunted various animals and birds like green pigeons and mountain sheep and lamps. He revealed that he stopped hunting after it was banned.  ^[9]Sakshi

• He appeared in various Telugu mythological films like Sri Krishnavataram (1967), Kurukshetram (1977), and Sri Vinayaka Vijayamu (1979).

• In 1984, garnered immense appreciation for his dual roles as Brahmanna and Ravi in the film Bobbili Brahmanna, which earned him Filmfare Best Actor Award (Telugu) and Nandi Award for Best Actor.

• He played the titular role in the 1986 Telugu biographical war film Tandra Paparayudu for which he earned the Filmfare Best Actor Award for the year 1986. Premiered at the 11th International Film Festival of India, Tandra Paparayudu showcased the story of an Indian freedom fighter who fought the French before the Britishers started ruling India.
  

  Tandra Paparayudu (1986)

• Other popular Telugu films under his belt include Palnati Pourusham (1994), Maa Nannaku Pelli (1997), Rangoon Rowdy (1979), Katakatala Rudrayya (1978), and Palnati Paurusham (1994).

• In 1997, he ventured into the Kannada film industry Hai Bangalore and Simhada Mari.

• The Ban on Cow Slaughter Bill, 1999 was introduced in the Lok Sabha by Yogi Adityanath, which provided for a complete prohibition on the slaughter of cows for all purposes. In 2000, Krishnam Raju moved a motion in the Lok Sabha for the introduction of The Prohibition of Cow Slaughter Bill, 2000.

• In 2009, he joined Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) floated by popular Telugu actor Chiranjeevi in 2008.
  

  Krishnam Raju posing with PRP chief Chiranjeevi after joining the Praja Rajyam in Hyderabad in 2009

• After losing the Rajahmundry Lok Sabha seat in 2009 on a ticket from PRP, he tried to contest the 2014 general elections from the BJP but was not given the ticket.

• He served as the President of the Telugu Artists Association for 18 years.

• He worked towards educating rural masses to make them aware of fiscal, academic, and political policies.

• He was actively engaged in Sangh Pariwar activities; The Sangh Parivar refers to the collection of Hindu nationalist organisations spawned by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

• He worked for the relief of cyclone-affected people and collected funds for the rehabilitation of families of police personnel. He was instrumental in establishing open-air theatres in  Nellore, Ellore, and Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh.

• Raju’s last film was Radhe Shyam (2022), in which he played the role of Paramahamsa. The film was presented by Krishnam Raju under his production company Gopi Krishna Movies.

• In his later years, Krishnam Raju suffered from diabetes, coronary heart disease, post-cardiac stenting with chronic heart rhythm disorder and heart dysfunction. In 2021, he underwent leg amputation for peripheral vascular disease.