Teja Kakumanu Age, Wife, Family, Biography & More

Some Lesser Known Facts About Teja Kakumanu

• Teja Kakumanu is an Indian actor and director known for his works in the Telugu entertainment industry. He first gained recognition for playing the role of Saketudu in the pan- India film Baahubali: The Beginning (2015). He is also known for playing the role of Sambadu in the Telugu film Aakashavaani (2021). In 2023, he gained popularity for making his directional debut with the Telugu web series Save the Tigers, which streamed on Disney+ Hotstar.

• He was born in his maternal grandparents’ village Dondapadu, Andhra Pradesh.

• Belonged to a farming family, he spent his childhood in Abbarajupalem in Thullur Mandal, Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh. He recalled his childhood in an interview and said,
  

  My father was a farmer. I grew up in a very remote village called Aparajapaalem which barely had 300 houses. Our house was in the middle of a lemon field and that was the kind of life I was exposed as a child.”

• On their two-acre land, his family would cultivate numerous crops like cotton, redgram, peanuts, bananas, and lemons. However, had to oblige when the government asked the farms under land pooling for the construction of capital.

• Teja did not aspire to become an actor or a director at the beginning. In an interview, he revealed that he was an active student leader and was inclined towards politics during his college days in Vijayawada. He was a state-level executive in Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). He was intrigued to take part in college competitions watching his peers taking part in them. He talked about the same and said,
  

  I thought it would be good to win some prizes. I was good at preparing speeches for elocution contests at short notice. I also worked with a few theatre groups. I loved being on stage and behind it, helping put up the sets and arrange the lighting. I participated in competitions and won prizes.”

• Later, he moved to Hyderabad for higher education.

• He would often travel to Vijayawada and Guntur to train students for college fests while pursuing his post-graduation. Meanwhile, he performed various stage plays across Andhra Pradesh and earned numerous accolades for his performances.
  

  Teja Kakumanu in a play at International Mime Festival

• In 2013, he won the Andhra Pradesh State government’s Nandi Award for his role in the play Kalyani.

• In the same year, he played the titular role in Sauda Aruna Theatre Group’s mythic-historical play Barbareekudu (or Barbareeka).
  

  Teja Kakumanu (left) in and as Barbareekudu

  Immensely appreciated, the role of Barbareeka caught the eye of screenwriter Vijayendra Prasad and paved Teja’s way into the film Baahubali: The Beginning (2015). Teja talked about the same in an interview and said,

  When I acted as Barbareekudu in a play, The coverage from The Hans India, attracted Rajamouli, who later offered me the role of Saketudu in Bahubali.”

• Whenever Teja visited Abbarajupalem, his co-villagers would enquire why he did not appear on TV or in a film if he was an actor. Apparently, they did not understand that he was a theatre artist and performed on stage.

• It was in 2013 when ventured into the Telugu film industry after making acquaintance with the filmmaker Pradeep Reddy at a workshop. Previously, Pradeep had bagged the National Award for his first Telugu short film Advaitham. At the workshop, Reddy suggested Teja venture into Tollywood. Teja took Reddy’s advice seriously and joined the direction department.

• He started off teaming up with Pradeep Advaitham and Mahesh Kathi who were also exploring the industry as new directors at that time. When Pradeep began his journey as a director, Teja worked with him as an associate for the Telugu films Billa Ranga (2014) and Maine Pyar Kiya (2014). He also worked with Mahesh Kathi for the film Pesarattu (2014) and assisted director Sriram Adittya in the direction department for the film Bhale Manchi Roju (2015).

• Simultaneously, he started taking up minor roles in Telugu films. He starred in several inconsequential roles before bagging a role in Baahubali: The Beginning (2015).

• He first appeared on the silver screen in director Teja’s Telugu romantic thriller film Neeku Naaku Dash Dash (2012). However, it was the Telugu epic action film Baahubali: The Beginning (2015) that garnered him popularity and was dubbed as his debut. In the film, he played Sakethudu, the traitor who leaks information about the Kingdom of Mahishmati to Kalakeyas.

• Teja was cast in the lead role in the Telegu remake of the Marathi film Poster Boys (2017) by Akshay Kumar and Rana Daggubati, but the project was suspended due to unforeseen circumstances.

• Thereafter, he starred in the zombie-comedy Telugu film Thanu Vachenanta (2016).
  

  Teja Kakumanu in Thanu Vachenanta (2016)

• He worked first assistant director for the Telugu film Devadas (2018).

• He gained immense appreciation for playing the role of Sambadu in the Telugu slice-of-life drama film Aakashavaani (2021), which streamed on SonyLIV. Set up in the backdrop of a dark forest in Andhra Pradesh, the film follows a tribe living under the rule of Dora (Lord in Telugu), who forbids the tribals from leaving the village without his approval. In the film, Sambadu is Dora’s henchman.
  

  Teja Kakumanu as Sambadu in Aakashavaani (2021)

• He played a cop in the action-thriller film Bheemla Nayak (2022) and Dr Rajashekar in the legal drama film Mukhachitram (2022).

• He appeared as  SP Parasuram in the crime-drama streaming TV series Parampara in 2021 and its sequel in 2022.
  

  Teja Kakumanu as SP Parasuram in Parampara (2021)

• He also provided his assistance in the making of the period romantic drama film Sita Ramam (2022), starring stars Dulquer Salmaan and Mrunal Thakur in the lead roles.

• He was later cast in the supernatural horror thriller show Dhootha by director Vikram K Kumar, starring Naga Chaitanya on Amazon Prime.

• In 2023, he rose to prominence in the Telugu entertainment industry with his directorial debut series Save the Tigers streamed on Disney+ Hotstar.

• In an interview, he talked about the idea behind Save the Tigers and said,
  

  When my daughter was born, my wife was invited to a Mother’s Day event. While she couldn’t turn up, I went there and played games with other moms and kids. When I shared the videos with Pradeep, he came up with a story.”

• Besides acting and directing, he also trains upcoming actors via workshops.
  

  Teja Kakumanu conducting an acting workshop

• The farming background of his family embedded a fondness for gardening in Teja. He has maintained a terrace garden at his home. In an interview, he said that he closely followed the tutorials by the agriculturist Charles Dowding, who is known for his specialization in organic farming outside of fields.
  

  A picture of Teja Kakumanu at his terrace garden