Teja Kakumanu is an Indian actor and director working in the Telugu entertainment industry. He is known for playing the role of Saketudu in the Telugu film Baahubali: The Beginning (2015) and Sambadu in the Telugu film Aakashavaani (2021). In 2023, he came into limelight by directing the Telugu web series Saving the Tiger, which aired on Disney+ Hotstar.
Wiki/Biography
Kumar Teja Kakumanu was born on Wednesday, 19 November 1986 (36 years old; as of 2022) in Dondapado, Andhra Pradesh, his maternal grandparents’ village. His zodiac sign is Scorpio. Born into a family of farmers, he grew up in Abarajupalam in Tullur mandal in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh and spent most of his time in the lemon fields surrounding his home. In an interview, he recalled his childhood and said:
My father is a farmer. I grew up in a very remote village called Aparajapaalem, with only 300 houses. Our house was in the middle of a lemon field, and that’s what life was like for me as a child. “
His family once grew cotton, red beans, peanuts, bananas, lemons, etc. on two acres of land. However, when the government asked them to take a stake in the farm to finance its construction, they had to agree, even though they didn’t like the idea. He attended Mary Martha English Secondary School in Tuller. Thereafter, he continued his studies at PB Siddharth Junior College, Vijayawada. He did his graduation from Sarada Degree College, Vijayawada. Teja revealed in an interview that he never aspired to be an actor or director. While attending college in Vijayawada, he was inclined toward politics. He is an active student leader and state-level executive of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). After noticing his peers winning college competitions and taking home trophies, he began competing in various competitions. Talking about the same thing he said
I thought it would be nice to win some prizes. I am good at preparing speeches for speech contests in a short period of time. I also worked with some theater groups. I love being on stage and behind the scenes helping build sets and lighting. I entered the competition and won a prize. “
Later, he moved to Hyderabad, Telangana for further studies. He then pursued his Masters in Acting Arts and Masters in Philosophy from Botis Sri Ramuru Telugu University, Hyderabad, Telangana. While pursuing his master’s degree, he frequently traveled to Vijayawada and Guntur to train students for university festivals. He also performed in stage plays in various cities of Andhra Pradesh. Whenever he visits his hometown Abbarajupalem, people ask him why they can’t see him on TV or in movies if he is an actor. Apparently, they didn’t understand that he was a theater artist and had done stage plays. He got involved in the Telugu film industry in 2013 after attending a workshop and met film producer Pradeep Reddy. Pradeep, who won the National Award for his first Telugu short film Advaitham, advised Teja to enter the film industry. Teja took Pradeep’s advice seriously and joined the directing department. Soon, he developed a passion for filmmaking and at the same time, he started playing small roles in Telugu films.
appearance
Height (approximately): 6′2″
Hair color: black
Eye color: black
family
Parents and siblings
His father is a farmer. He has a sister who lives in the United States. His brother is a chartered accountant.
wife and children
His wife’s name is Sneha Rao. In 2013, Teja and Sneha started an organic juice bar called Yosta together in Banjara Hills, Hyderabad. He has two daughters. The name of one of her daughters is Aradhya Teja.
Teja Kakumanu with wife and daughter
religion
He believes in Hinduism.
Screenshot of Teja Kakumanu’s Instagram post about her religious beliefs
Profession
Early in his career, he worked with Pradeep Advaitham and Mahesh Kathi who were exploring new directorial options at the time. When Pradeep turned director, Teja worked with him in the 2014 Telugu films “Billa Ranga” and “Maine Pyar Kiya”. He also collaborated with Mahesh Kathi in the Telugu film Pesarattu (2014) in the directorial department and with Sriram Adittya in the Telugu film Bhale Manchi Roju (2015). At the same time, he also appeared in plays.
theater artist
He has received numerous awards for his theater performances, including the Nandi Award from the Andhra Pradesh government in 2013 for his role in the drama “Kalyani”.
Teja Kakumanu performs drama at International Mime Festival
In 2013, his eponymous role in Sauda Aruna Theater Group’s mythological historical drama “Barbareekudu” (or “Barbarika”) caught the attention of screenwriter Vijayendra Prasad, who won him the “Baahubali: The Beginning” : The Beginning, 2015). He also talked about the same thing in an interview,
When I played Barbareekudu in the play, reports from India Hans attracted Rajamouli and later he invited me to play the role of Saketudu in Baahubali. “
Teja Kakumanu as Barbareekudu
actor
Teja Kakumanu played various insignificant roles before playing a traitor in Baahubali: The Beginning (2015). He started his career as an actor after getting an opportunity to star in Teja’s Telugu romantic thriller Neeku Naaku Dash Dash (2012). He gained recognition for his role as the traitor Saktudu in the Telugu epic action film Baahubali: The Beginning (2015). In the film, Saktudu is a spy for the savage Kalakya tribe, which declares war on the kingdom of Mashmati. Baahubali: The Beginning (2015) gained huge popularity and later became a pan-India film.
Teja Kakumanu as Saketudu in Baahubali Begins (2015)
In 2016, he appeared in the zombie comedy Telugu film Thanu Vachenanta. The actor-director plays the lead role of Akhtar Ahmed in the crime web series Shoot Out At Alair (2020).
Teja Kakumanu stars as Akhtar Ahmed in Shootout at Alair (2020)
He stars as Sambadhu in the Telugu slice-of-life drama Aakashavaani (2021), which was released on the streaming platform SonyLIV. The film tells the story of a tribe living in the forest hills of Andhra Pradesh who live under the rule of Dora (a Telugu lord) who forbids anyone to enter or leave the village without his permission. In the film, Sambadu is Dora’s follower.
Teja Kakumanu plays Sambadu in Aakashavaani (2021)
After starring as a cop in the Telugu action thriller Bheemla Nayak (2022), he played the role of Dr. Rajashekar in the Telugu legal drama Mukhachitram. He played a supporting role as SP Parasuram in the Telugu crime drama streaming TV series Parampara, which aired in 2021 and its sequel in 2022.
Teja Kakumanu plays SP Parasuram in Parampara 2 (2022)
He later acted in director Vikram K Kumar’s supernatural horror thriller Dhootha starring Naga Chaitanya on Amazon Prime.
director
In 2023, he made his directorial debut with the Telugu comedy-romance drama Saving the Tiger, which aired on Disney+ Hotstar.
The web series stars Chaitanya Krishna, Abhinav Gomatam, Priyadarshi Pulikonda and Harsha Vardhan in key roles.
Director Teja Kakumanu and actors Priyadarshi and Gangavva on the set of “Saving Tigers”
other
He worked as the first assistant director on the Telugu film Devadas (2018). He also produced the Telugu period romantic drama Sita Ramam (2022), starring Dulquer Salmaan and Mrunal Thakur ) starring.
Teja Kakumanu and Mrunal Thakur on the sets of Sita Ramam (2022)
Facts/Trivia
- His other name is Kumar Teja.
- In addition to acting and directing, he also trains budding actors by conducting workshops.
Teja Kakumanu leads acting workshop
- Teja is the protagonist in the Telugu remake of Marathi film Poster Boy (2017), planned by Akshay Kumar and Rana Daggubati. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, the project was suspended. After this, Teja played the lead role in Thanu Vachenanta.
- In an interview, talking about the idea behind the “Save the Tigers” series, he said:
When my daughter was born, my wife was invited to a Mother’s Day event. Although she couldn’t show up, I went there to play games with other moms and kids. When I shared these videos with Pradeep, he came up with a story. “
- He practices yoga regularly.
Teja Kakumanu doing Bakasana yoga pose
- He enjoyed gardening and had a terrace garden at home. He said in an interview that his family’s agricultural background inspired his interest in gardening. He followed the tutorials of Charles Dowding, an agriculturist who specialized in field organic farming.
Teja Kakumanu in his terrace garden
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education