Sumanth

Sumanth (Born Sumanth Kumar) is an Indian actor/producer known predominantly for his work in Telugu cinema. The eldest grandson of the late Akkineni Nageswara Rao, he is also a partner in Annapurna Studios. He is best known for starring in the films, Satyam, Gowri, Godavari, Madhumasam, Golconda High School, and most recently Malli Raava.

Sumanth was born in Hyderabad, India, on 9th February, 1975. He is the only son ofSurendra Yarlagadda and the late Satyavathi Akkineni, eldest daughter of the iconic Telugu film actorAkkineni Nageswara Rao. A few months after his birth, Sumanth's parents returned to the US where they were residing. Sumanth however remained in India on the request of his grandfather Akkineni Nageswara Rao, who was then on a hiatus from films after a major heart surgery. The latter had often said that his busy acting career prevented him from fully experiencing fatherhood with his own children, so he wished to raise his first grandchild himself. Hence Sumanth was adopted by his maternal grandparents.

Family

Sumanth's father Surendra Yarlagadda is a retired film producer, noted for several hit films such as Shiva, Rao Gari Illu, Gaayam, Muchattaga Mugguru and Collector Gari Abbayi. Sumanth has onesister, Supriya Yarlagadda, who is the executive director of Annapurna Studios. Prominent actor Nagarjuna Akkineni is his maternal uncle. The famous late film producer D. Ramanaidu is his uncle from his paternal side. Also, actors Venkatesh Daggubati, Rana Daggubati, Naga Chaitanya, Akhil Akkineni and Sushanth are his cousins; so is the noted film producer Daggubati Suresh Babu. In August 2004, Sumanth married former actress Keerthi Reddy. They, however, were divorced amicably in 2006.

Education

Sumanth studied at the Hyderabad Public School, graduating in 1991.For his undergraduate studies, he enrolled in an engineering course at Michigan. Realising after 2 years that it wasn't in his best interest, he transferred to Columbia College Chicago, from where he graduated with a B.A in Film Studies in 1998. He was selected to the Dean's List during his final two semesters due to his academic excellence. He said that it was only in film school where he truly enjoyed and thrived in academics.

Sumanth started his acting career, playing the lead in Ram Gopal Varma's Prema Katha, which released on April 15, 1999. Despite moderate commercial success, Sumanth's performance was well appreciated, and the film too won critical acclaim and several Nandi Awards. His next film, Yuvakudu, directed by Karunakaran and co-starring debutant Bhumika Chawla, did positive business at the box office and was critically hailed as well. His third filmPelli Sambandham gave him the opportunity to act beside his grandfather Akkineni Nageswara Rao, and was directed by K. Raghavendra Rao. The film, however, managed only average business at the box office. The same was the case with Snehamante Idera, where he was cast alongside his uncle Nagarjuna Akkineni.

Box Office Breakthrough

In 2003, after a self imposed hiatus of almost 2 years, he starred in his first blockbuster Satyam. It also happened to be Genelia D'Souza's debut Telugu film. Satyam, which was produced by his uncle Akkineni Nagarjuna, was one of the highest-grossing films of 2003/2004. Sumanth revealed that he was actively involved in the production and creative inputs for this film besides just acting.

Changing gear into another genre, he followed up with another hit film, the action/drama Gowri, which confirmed him as a bona fide box office draw, and gave him an action image.

2005-2010

After the flop Dhana 51, and the average running Mahanandi alongside Anushka Shetty, Sumanth shifted paths in 2006, starring in Sekhar Kammula's romantic comedy/drama Godavari. It remains one of the most acclaimed films in his career. In addition to receiving rave reviews and box office success, it went on to win multiple Nandi and Filmfareawards. Godavari was responsible in giving Sumanth an urban and NRI following, and is widely considered a modern-day classic.

Sumanth's next film was the average running action/family drama Chinnodu (2006). In 2007, he starred in two movies: Madhumasam and Classmates. The former, a romantic comedy/drama alongside Sneha, produced by D. Ramanaidu, and directed by Chandra Siddhartha, was a hit, whereas the latter did not fare too well, despite good reviews. In early 2008, Sumanth's home production, the action/drama Pourudu alongside Kajal Aggarwal turned out to be a moderate success. It was especially appreciated for its action sequences. However, his next film, the action/romance Boni alongside Kriti Kharbanda released in mid 2009, and failed at the box office.

2011 to Present

In 2010, after a gap of almost a year, Sumanth took a rather experimental turn by starring in Golconda High School, directed by the national award-winning Indraganti Mohan Krishna. It was based on the English novel The Men Within, written by ex-cricketer Harimohan Paruvu, and it is regarded to be one of the first sports dramas in Telugu. Released on 15 January 2011, it garnered excellent critical acclaim and was declared a commercial hit as well. The critics as well as audience termed Sumanth's portrayal of a cricket coach with a chequered past to be one of his finest roles.

Sumanth's next was the romantic drama Raaj, which released in March 2011, but failed miserably at the box office. Sumanth candidly admitted after release that he wasn't expecting much from this film as it was plagued with several problems during production. Following this, he starred in Daggaraga Dooramga, a romance/ thriller under the direction of Ravi Kumar Chavali. It released in August 2011, and did below average business at the box office.In 2013, Sumanth teamed up again with director Chandra Siddhartha for the romantic comedy Emo Gurram Egaravachu It released on 25 January 2014 to a lukewarm response from the audience. Sumanth's foray into the comedy genre however received fairly positive reviews from the critics. Next came the romantic comedy Naruda Donoruda, the remake of the Hindi hit Vicky Donor. It released in November 2016, but this too did not fare well. Demonetization, which came into effect a few days after its release, was deemed one of the main reasons for its box office failure.

After a series of disappointments, Sumanth made a comeback with theromantic drama Malli Raava, under the direction of debutant Gowtam Tinnanuri. Released on Dec 8, 2017, it received positive reviews, and was a box office hit. Some critics even went to the extent of calling it his best film to date. Sumanth's performance too was praised, and he won the best actor award from the Telugu Chamber of Film/Commerce. The filmalso won in the best film and best director categories.

Sumanth's next was a supernatural mystery/thrillerSubrahmanyapuram, directed by debutant Santhossh Jagarlapudi. Released on December 7, 2018, it received mixed reviews and turned out an average grosser. It was a profitable film for its producer though. This was followed by the drama/thriller Idam Jagath, which didn't fare too well.

Sumanth was most recently seen donning the role of his grandfather Akkineni Nageswara Rao in the Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao biopic N.T.R: Kathanayakudu, directed by Krish Jagarlamudi. This film opened on January 9, 2019 to critical acclaim . Sumanth's portrayal in his firstsupporting role drew unanimous praise from all quarters.

Sumanth is currently playing the lead in an investigative drama/thriller titled Kapatadhaari, which is the remake of the Kannada hit Kavaludaari.. It's slated for a summer 2020 release.

He's also signed on to play the main role in a gangster comedy caper directed by debutant Vinu Yagna. This film goes on floor in March 2020.

He has also expressed an interest to diversify into playing author backed supporting and negative roles in the future.