The second largest movie industry in India is the Telugu film industry which is also known by its sobriquet Tollywood! The Telugu film industry had a humble beginning in 1921, when Raghupathi Venkaiah Naidu, cited as the father of Telugu cinema produced the first Telugu silent film, Bhishma Pratigna. Today, the Tollywood industry produces over 200 films per year.
In the 96 years since the first Telugu movie was released, the Telugu film industry has come a long way! The children of the legendary actors rule the screens today, creating their own legacy. But, there are a few celebrity children who chose to go a different route and took up entrepreneurship instead. Let’s take a look at those famous celebrity daughters who chose the startup world over the movie industry.
1. Nara Brahmani
Nara Brahmani is the daughter of the one and only Balakrishna Nandamuri and the grand daughter of Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao. Instead of venturing into the film industry her family helped establish, she is now managing her father in law, Chandrababu Naidu’s business, Heritage Foods Limited. She recently also won the coveted National CSR Award which recognizes corporate initiatives in the area of corporate social responsibility (CSR) to achieve inclusive growth and inclusive and sustainable development from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
2. Manchu Lakshmi
Daughter of Manchu Mohan Lal and sister of Manchu Manoj and Manchu Vishnu, Manchu Lakshmi is a true entrepreneur in every sense. She is a producer, a social worker, a writer and a director. She runs the production house Sree Lakshmi Prasanna Pictures founded by her father and has produced several popular blockbusters such as Assembly Rowdy, Rowdygari Pellam, Alludu Garu, Major Chandrakanth, Pedarayudu and Rayalaseema Ramanna Chowdary. She was also the host of the popular TV show Memu Saitham, a show which helped the common man to achieve their dreams by raising money through Tollywood stars who worked as daily wage laborers for a day.
3. Manjula Ghattamaneni
Manjula is the daughter of superstar Krishna Ghattamaneni and the sister of Mahesh Babu. She is the owner of the production house Indira Productions, named after her mother. She produced and starred in the film ‘Show’ which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu and National Film Award for Best Screenplay. Her production house is known for movies like Naani, Pokiri, Kavya’s Diary and Ye Maaya Chesave.
4. Sushmita Konidela
Sushmita is the daughter of Chiranjeevi who made a career for herself in the Tollywood industry but not as an actress. Despite hailing from one of the biggest film family, Sushmita chose to be a fashion designer instead and even styled her father for his 150th movie Khaidi No. 150 and his TV debut Meelo Evaru Koteeswarudu. She has also styled her brother Ram Charan Tej in his upcoming movie RC11.
5. Daggubati Purandeswari
Indian politician from the state of Andhra Pradesh, Purandeswari is the daughter of N.T. Rama Rao (NTR.) Unlike her brothers Balakrishna and Harikrishna, she chose to be a politician and also represented the Visakhapatnam constituency of Andhra Pradesh as a Member of Parliament in the 15th Lok Sabha of India. She takes after her father who became a politician after a successful career in the Telugu film industry. She joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on 7 March, 2014 and was appointed as the in charge of BJP Mahila Morcha. She also established the Hyderabad Institute of Gem and Jewellery having followed a short course in gemology at the Gemological Institute of India.
6. Naga Susheela
Naga Susheela hails from the popular Akkineni family. The daughter of Akkineni Nageswara Rao (ANR) and sister of Nagarjuna found her calling in the film industry but not as an actress. She is a director at Annapurna Studios Private Limited and Annapurna International School of Film and Media. She has also produced three feature films, Adda in 2013, Current in 2009 and Kalidasu in 2008. Apart from production, she also has business experience in the real estate sector.
Along with the famous daughters of Tollywood celebrities, many daughters in laws also ventured out to create a name for themselves. Upasana Kamineni, the daughter in law of Chiranjeevi stepped into the family business set up by her grandfather Dr. Pratap C. Reddy, the co founder and Chairman of Apollo Hospitals. Focusing more on the healthcare unit of the Apollo group of hospitals, she is currently serving as the Vice President of Apollo Charity. Another similar famous daughter in law is Nagarjuna’s wife Amala Akkineni who is the co founder of The Blue Cross of Hyderabad, a non government organization which works towards the welfare of animals and preservation of animal rights in India.