Ghattamaneni Siva Rama Krishna Murthy is known as Superstar Krishna in the Telugu Film Industry. Krishna was born on 31 May 1940 in Burripalem, Guntur district of present-day Andhra Pradesh. He was an Indian actor, director, and producer, who is known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema. In a film career spanning five decades, he starred in more than 350 films in a variety of roles.
Krishna was born in Burripalem, Andhrapradesh where he completed his studies. Inclined in movies, he wanted to move to Chennai where the Telugu film industry was based, in those days. Their family members accepted his request on the condition that he should marry his relative, Indira to which he agreed. He then went to Chennai and began his film career with minor roles in films such as Kula Gothralu (1961), Padandi Mundhuku (1962), and Paruvu Prathishta (1963).
He debuted as a lead actor with the 1965 film Tene Manasulu and went on to star in films such as Sakshi (1967), which won critical acclaim at the Tashkent film festival in 1968. During this time he shared a close friendship with actress Vijaya Nirmala. In 1972, he starred in Pandanti Kapuram, which garnered the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu for that year. He has essayed roles across different genres including mythological, drama, western, fantasy, action, spy, and historical films.
Krishna was credited with producing many technological firsts in the Telugu film industry such as the first Cinemascope film – Alluri Seeta Rama Raju (1974), the first Eastmancolor film – Eenadu (1982), the first 70mm film – Simhasanam (1986), the first DTS film – Telugu Veera Levara (1995) and introducing cowboy genre to the Telugu screen. He starred in the spy films Gudachari 116 (1966), James Bond 777 (1971), Agent Gopi (1978), Rahasya Gudachari (1981), and Gudachari 117 (1989). Krishna directed Sankharavam (1987), Mugguru Kodukulu (1988), Koduku Diddina Kapuram (1989), Bala Chandrudu (1990), and Anna Thammudu (1990), casting his son Mahesh Babu in pivotal roles. Krishna directed 17 feature films and produced many films under his Padmalaya Studios production company along with his brothers Adiseshagiri Rao and Hanumantha Rao. Krishna was one of the highest-paid Telugu actors during his time. He used to release 17 movies in a year, a record for any hero.
Krishna established his own production house, Padmalaya Films, and produced several big-budget films such as Agni Pariksha (1970), Mosagallaku Mosagadu (1971), Pandanti Kapuram (1972), Devudu Chesina Manushulu (1973), Alluri Seetharama Raju (1974). With his second wife Vijaya Nirmala, Krishna also set up another production house called Vijaya Krishna movies and produced some critically acclaimed films, including Meena and Devadasu (1974). Mosagallaki Mosagadu, which brought the Cowboy genre of films in 1971 and Alluri Seetharamaraju, which was released in 1974 was sensational in many ways. In 1975, except for Cheekati Velugulu, none of his films of this time made any impact at the box office as people were reluctant to watch him in softer roles after his portrayal of Alluri Seetharama Raju in the eponymous film. He suffered 14 consecutive flops (Devadasu also one of them) after the release of Alluri Seeta Rama Raju.
Krishna collaborated with several notable directors of the time such as Adurthi Subba Rao, V. Madhusudhana Rao, K. Viswanath, Bapu, Dasari Narayana Rao, and K. Raghavendra Rao. He also has a record of pairing up with the same actress for more than 48 films with Vijaya Nirmala and 47 films with actress Jaya Prada.
Krishna was married to Indira Devi (1952–2022) and has five children, two sons Ramesh Babu and Mahesh Babu, and three daughters—Padmavathi, Manjula and Priyadarshini Krishna met Vijaya Nirmala on the sets of Sakshi (1967). The pair worked together in over 40 films and had no children together. He married Vijaya Nirmala in 1969.
His sons Ramesh Babu (who passed away in early 2022) was a film producer while Mahesh Babu is one of the highest-paid actors in Telugu cinema. Padmavathi is married to Galla Jayadev, Manjula is married to producer and actor Sanjay Swaroop, and Priyadarshini is married to actor-producer Sudheer Babu.
In 2009, the government of India honored him with the Padma Bhushan for his contributions to Indian cinema. He was elected as a Member of Parliament for the Congress party in 1989. In December 2012, at the age of 69, Krishna announced his retirement from politics. In 1997, he received the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award – South. He was awarded an honorary Doctorate from Andhra University in 2008. He passed away on 15 November 2022 due to cardiac arrest.
