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Sumanth

Sumanth
Sumanth in 2021
Born
Yarlagadda Sumanth Kumar

(1975-02-09) 9 February 1975 (age 49)
Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh (now in Telangana), India
Alma materColumbia College Chicago
Occupations
  • Actor
  • producer
Years active1999–present
Spouse
​
​
(m. 2004; div. 2006)​
RelativesSee Daggubati-Akkineni Family

Yarlagadda Sumanth Kumar (born 9 February 1975), known mononymously as Sumanth, is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Telugu cinema. He is the eldest grandson of Telugu actor Akkineni Nageswara Rao. He is also a partner in Annapurna Studios.[1]

Sumanth's most notable films are Prema Katha (1999),[2] Yuvakudu (2000), Satyam (2003),[3]Gowri (2004),[4] Godavari (2006), Madhumasam (2008), Golconda High School (2011), Malli Raava (2017), and Sita Ramam (2022).

Background and early life

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Sumanth was born in Hyderabad, India, on 9 February 1975.[5][6] He is the only son of Surendra Yarlagadda and Satyavathi Akkineni. He is the eldest grandchild of the Telugu film actor Akkineni 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.

Family

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Sumanth's father, Surendra Yarlagadda, is a former film producer, noted for several hit films such as Muchataga Mugguru (1985), Collector Gari Abbayi (1987), Rao Gari Illu (1988), Siva (1989), and Gaayam (1993). He has one younger sister: Supriya Yarlagadda, who is the executive director of Annapurna Studios. Actor Nagarjuna Akkineni is his maternal uncle.[7] Actors Naga Chaitanya, Akhil Akkineni, and Sushanth are his cousins.[8]

In August 2004, Sumanth married former actress Keerthi Reddy. They were divorced amicably in 2006.[9]

Education

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Sumanth studied at the Hyderabad Public School, graduating in 1991. For his undergraduate studies, he enrolled in an engineering course in Michigan. Realising after two 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 1997.[10]

Acting career

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Sumanth made his debut as a lead actor in Ram Gopal Varma's Prema Katha in 1999.[11][12] Although not commercially successful ,[13] the film was critically acclaimed and received five Nandi awards, including the Nandi Award for Best Feature Film.[14] Even though it was just an average earner when released, his second film Yuvakudu (2000) directed by Karunakaran would go on to be widely considered an underrated film later on .[15][16] Sumanth’s lean box office run continued with his next films Pelli Sambandham, Ramma Chilakamma, and Snehamante Idera, despite popular actors from his family Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Nagarjuna sharing screen in two of them.[17]

Sumanth’s box office breakthrough came in late 2003 with Satyam (2003 film)[18] where he played the role of a struggling lyricist. In addition to commercial success, Sumanth received critical acclaim, with Idlebrain.com commenting, "there is not even a single moment where you can find any shortcomings in his histrionics".[19] This was followed by another hit Gowri in 2004. This action drama was a remake of the Tamil film Thirumalai. Idlebrain.com Jeevi wrote, “Sumanth was good as usual and performed really well in fights”.[20] After consecutive hits, he continued in the action genre with Dhana 51 (2005), which was a flop, and the average running Mahanandi (2006).[21][22]

Sumanth altered his path in 2006, starring in Sekhar Kammula's Godavari, which remains one of the most acclaimed films in his career. On top of immense critical and commercial success, this film also garnered five Nandi awards and a Filmfare award.[23] Rediff.com said that Godavari is “a film that reminds us that cinema can be so much more ”.[24] Sumanth next acted in Chinnodu, which released in October 2006 and was an average grosser.[25] In 2007, he starred in the romantic drama Madhumasam, produced by D. Ramanaidu and directed by Chandra Siddhartha. This film was a hit, having a 100 days theatrical run.[26] Sumanth next did the lead in Classmates, which generated a curiosity as it was the first time that its director K. Vijaya Bhaskar was without his usual collaborator Trivikram Srinivas as dialogue writer.[27] Additionally, it was a remake of the trend-setting Malayalam film Classmates.[28] Despite positive reviews, the film however failed at the box office. Sumanth’s next two films were Pourudu (2008), which was a moderate success,[29] and Boni (2009) which was a failure.[30]

Sumanth's following film Golconda High School in 2011 was a sports drama directed by Mohana Krishna Indraganti. Based on an English Novel "The Men Within" written by Harimohan Paruvu, an ex Ranji Trophy cricketer,[31] this film was positively reviewed and was well received by audiences. Idlebrain.com said that Sumanth's role as a cricket coach was his "career best performance".[32] This was followed by failures like Raaj (2011), Daggaraga Dooranga (2011), Emo Gurram Egaravachu (2014) and Naruda Donoruda (2016).[33][34][35][36] Among these, Naruda Donoruda was anticipated as it was a remake of the Bollywood hit Vicky Donor. The film however received disappointing reviews, and its theatrical run was further negatively affected by the coinciding 2016 Indian banknote demonetisation.[37][38]

Sumanth made a comeback in late 2017 with the romantic drama Malli Raava, under the direction of debutant Gowtam Tinnanuri. This film was a box office hit and was well reviewed,[39][40] with Firstpost calling it “a pleasant surprise” and "Sumanth's best film in a long time".[41] It won four awards including best film from the Telugu Chamber of Film and Commerce.[42] Sumanth next played the lead role in Subrahmanyapuram (2018). This mystery thriller was commercially an average runner after receiving mixed reviews.[43] It was followed by the flop Idam Jagath (2018). Sumanth then played the lead role in Kapatadhaari, which was a remake of the Kannada Neo-noir Thriller Kavaludaari. This film released in February 2021 with 50% theatre occupancy COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and turned out to be commercially unsuccessful despite positive reviews.[44][45] His next film Malli Modalaindi (2021) released directly on OTT to negative reviews.[46] However, the popular website Greatandhra.com called it a “soft hit” based on streaming hours.[47]

The various supporting and cameo roles Sumanth did starting from 2019 received a positive response. Despite the film’s commercial failure, Sumanth's supporting role as his grandfather Akkineni Nageswara Rao was well received in NTR: Kathanayakudu.[48] In 2022, he did a key supporting role in the film Sita Ramam, a war romance starring Dulquer Salmaan. This film was a major commercial and critical success and Sumanth's performance received appreciation.[49] He then appeared in an integral cameo role in the Dhanush starrer Vaathi (2023) which was also successful.[50][51]

Filmography

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Key
† Denotes films that have not yet been released

As actor

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Year Film Role Notes Ref.
1999 Prema Katha Suri Debut Film
2000 Yuvakudu Siva
Pelli Sambandham Grandson
2001 Ramma Chilakamma Kasi
Snehamante Idera Chandru
2003 Satyam Satyam
2004 Gowri Gowri Shankar
2005 Dhana 51 Dhana
Mahanandi Shankar
2006 Godavari Sreeram "Ram"
Chinnodu Chinna
2007 Classmates Ravi Kiran
2008 Madhumasam Sanjay
2009 Pourudu Ajay
Boni DD
2011 Golconda High School Sampath
Raaj Raaj
Daggaraga Dooranga Gowtham
2014 Emo Gurram Egaravachu Bullebbai
2016 Naruda Donoruda Vicky
2017 Malli Raava Karthik
2018 Subrahmanyapuram Karthik
Idam Jagath Nishith
2019 NTR: Kathanayakudu Akkineni Nageswara Rao
NTR: Mahanayakudu
2021 Kapatadhaari Gowtham
2022 Malli Modalaindi Vikram
Sita Ramam Brigadier Vishnu Sharma Nominated–SIIMA Award for Best Supporting Actor – Telugu
2023 Vaathi A. M. Kumar IAS Cameo appearance; Bilingual film [52]
Sir A. S. Murthy IAS
2024 Aham Reboot Nilay
TBA Anangana Oka Rowdy † Waltair Seenu Pre- production [53]

As dubbing artist

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References

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  1. ^ "Archive News - The Hindu". Hinduonnet.com. Archived from the original on 11 October 2020. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  2. ^ "The Nandi Awards For 1999". fullhyderabad.com.
  3. ^ "Satyam Review". Idlebrain. Archived from the original on 14 March 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  4. ^ "Gowri Review". Full Hyderabad. Archived from the original on 29 December 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  5. ^ "'I am not resisting any woman' - HYDB". The Hindu. 11 January 2008. Archived from the original on 20 November 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  6. ^ "Sumanth Birthday Special! Unseen photos of Tollywood's most underrated hero". The Times of India. 9 February 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  7. ^ "'I am not resisting any woman'". The Hindu. 11 January 2008. Archived from the original on 6 April 2011. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  8. ^ "Family Christmas". Times of India.
  9. ^ "Archive News". The Hindu. 11 January 2008. Archived from the original on 6 April 2011. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  10. ^ "Sumanth". GoTelugu. Archived from the original on 8 June 2011. Retrieved 2011-04-25.
  11. ^ "RGV to direct Telugu film after over a decade". The Indian Express. 3 September 2010. Archived from the original on 1 October 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  12. ^ "Prema Katha (1999)". Indiancine.ma. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  13. ^ P, Shekar Reddy (20 February 2021). "హీరో సుమంత్ తొలి పారితోషికం ఎంతో తెలుసా..?". TeluguStop.com. Archived from the original on 20 February 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  14. ^ "Telugu Cinema Etc - Idlebrain.com". www.idlebrain.com. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  15. ^ Jeevi, Idlebrain. "Interview with Karunakaran". www.idlebrain.com. Archived from the original on 6 April 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  16. ^ "Top 10 Underrated Movies In Tollywood | Latest Articles". nettv4u. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  17. ^ Gudupudi, Srihari. "Movie review – Snehamante Idera". www.idlebrain.com. Archived from the original on 2 March 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  18. ^ "Pelli Sambandham Review". Full Hyderabad.
  19. ^ "Telugu cinema Review - Sathyam - Sumanth, Genelia - Soorya Kiran - Nagarjuna Akkineni - Chakri". www.idlebrain.com. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  20. ^ "Telugu cinema Review - Gowri - Sumanth, Charmy - Sravanthi Ravi Kishore". www.idlebrain.com. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  21. ^ "Dhana 51U". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  22. ^ "Mahanandi - Telugu cinema Review - Sumanth, Srihari & Anushka". www.idlebrain.com. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  23. ^ "15 years for 'Godavari': Sumanth reminisces his super hit movie". The Times of India. 19 May 2021. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  24. ^ "Godavari: Very cool indeed - Rediff.com". m.rediff.com. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  25. ^ "Chinnodu - Telugu cinema Review - Sumanth & Charmme". www.idlebrain.com. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  26. ^ "Madhumasam 100 days function - Telugu cinema - Sumanth, Sneha & Parvati Melton". www.idlebrain.com. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  27. ^ "Vijaya Bhaskar K - Telugu Cinema interview - Telugu film director". www.idlebrain.com. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  28. ^ "'Classmates,' a trendsetter". The Hindu. 29 September 2006 – via www.thehindu.com.
  29. ^ "Pourudu 100days Function". m.ragalahari.com. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
  30. ^ "Pourudu 100days Function". www.ragalahari.com. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  31. ^ "Coming up with Golconda High School". Rediff. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  32. ^ "Golkonda High School film review - Telugu cinema Review - Sumanth & Swati". www.idlebrain.com. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  33. ^ Rajamani, Radhika. "Raaj is insipid". Rediff. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  34. ^ Arikatla, Venkat (26 August 2011). "'Daggaraga Dooranga' Review: Near To Flop, Far From Hit". greatandhra.com. Archived from the original on 27 November 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  35. ^ "Review : Emo Gurram Egaravachu – Outdated and Predictable". 123telugu.com. 25 January 2014. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  36. ^ Kavirayani, Suresh (5 November 2016). "Naruda Donaruda movie review: A bad remake".
  37. ^ "'Malli Raava' is a natural love story: Sumanth [Interview] - Telugu News". IndiaGlitz.com. 7 December 2017. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  38. ^ "Naruda Donaruda review: This donor is not a perfect match". The New Indian Express. 5 November 2016. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  39. ^ "Malli Raava First Weekend Collections". Sakshi Post. 11 December 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
  40. ^ "Malli Raava Telugu Movie Review | Sumanth Malli Raava Movie Review". 123telugu.com. 9 December 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
  41. ^ "Malli Raava movie review: This Sumanth, Aakanksha Singh starrer is a pleasant surprise". Firstpost. 8 December 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
  42. ^ Movies, iQlik. "Awards For Sumanth Malli Raava Movie". iQlikmovies. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  43. ^ Chowdhary, Y. Sunita (7 December 2018). "'Subrahmanyapuram' review: Lacklustre narration". The Hindu.
  44. ^ Chowdhary, Y. Sunita (19 February 2021). "'Kapatadhaari' movie review: Sumanth and Nandita Swetha starrer is an edge-of-the-seat thriller". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X.
  45. ^ "'కపటధారి' విడుదల తేదీ మార్పు.. అల్లరి నరేష్‌పై సుమంత్ సై". Samayam Telugu (in Telugu). Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  46. ^ "Malli Modalaindi movie review: This 'love after divorce' story is immature and dull". Pinkvilla. 11 February 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  47. ^ "సాఫ్ట్ గా హిట్ కొట్టిన సుమంత్ | greatandhra". telugu.greatandhra.com. 16 February 2022. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  48. ^ "Sumanth aces Akkineni Nageswara Rao's look in NTR biopic". The Indian Express. 20 September 2018. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  49. ^ Dundoo, Sangeetha Devi (5 August 2022). "'Sita Ramam' movie review: A poignant love story with charming performances from Dulquer Salmaan and Mrunal Thakur". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 22 August 2023. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  50. ^ "Vaathi box-office collection: Dhanush's movie crosses Rs 100 crore worldwide, actor reacts". Business Today. 6 March 2023. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  51. ^ "Dhanush-Samyuktha starrer 'Vaathi' set for its TV premiere". The Times of India. 1 May 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  52. ^ "Vaathi review: Despite flaws, Dhanush's earnest presence lifts this honest film".
  53. ^ "Anaganaga Oka Rowdy: Sumanth's first look from Manu Yagnaa directorial out". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  54. ^ "Sumanth to dub for Telugu version of Ranveer Singh-starrer '83'". The Times of India. 2 January 2021.
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