Sathyam Babu Dixithulu popularly known as Sarath Babu was born on 31 July 1951 in Amadalavalasa, Andhra Pradesh. He is an Indian actor known for his works predominantly in Tamil and Telugu cinema. He has worked in more than 200 films. He has appeared in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and a few in Malayalam and Hindi. He entered the film industry in 1973 through a Telugu film and later became popular through the Tamil film Nizhal Nijamagiradhu in 1978, directed by K Balachander. He has received eight state Nandi Awards.
His father was a hotelier, who wanted him to handle his business but Sarath wanted to be a police officer. During college days, Sarath developed short-sightedness and couldn't join the police. Neighbours, lecturers told him that he should get into films. His father was against it but his mother supported him. He responded to an advertisement in the newspaper for a film that was looking for fresh faces and he got through the audition. His first break was in a Tamil film, directed by K. Balachander which was remade in Telugu as Idi Katha Kaadu, with him co-starring Kamal Haasan and Chiranjeevi and the film was a hit.
He received the Nandi Award for Best Supporting Actor thrice in 1981, 1988 and 1989 for the films Seethakoka Chiluka, O Bharya Katha and for Neerajanam. He has worked with famous actors such as- Kamal Haasan, Sivaji Ganeshan, Rajinikanth, Balakrishna and Chiranjeevi. Sharat Babu refers to K.Balachander as his god father and mentor. Some of his films are- Panthulamma, Maro Charitra, 47 Rojulu, Samsaram oka Chadarangam, Sagara Sangamam, Sitara, Swathi Muthyam, Abhinandana, Sriramadasu, Magadheera etc.
Sarath Babu has received many awards, which includes 8 Nandi Awards as Best Supporting Actor for his acting performance in various Telugu films. Sarath Babu has also acted in some TV serials. He has acted in the Telugu Mega Serial Antharangalu which was telecasted on ETV Telugu. This serial was directed by Akkineni Vinay Kumar.
During the days when Sarath Babu was trying to establish himself in films, he fell in love with and married Rama Prabha, his co-actress who is known for comedy roles and she was already a well-established actress in the Telugu film industry by the time he entered the films. Ramaprabha was four years older than Sarath Babu, but their marriage ended in divorce after fourteen years. In a 2007 interview with Telugu Cinema.com, Ramaprabha said that if she married for support, Sarath Babu married out of necessity and theirs was a marriage of mutual opportunism.
Right now Sarath Babu plays elderly father characters in films. He recently appeared as a Judge in Pawan Kalyan's Vakeel Saab which was a big hit in Telugu.
