Teja Kakumanu is an Indian actor and director who works in the Telugu entertainment industry. He is best known for playing Saketudu in the Telugu film Baahubali: The Beginning (2015) and Sambadu in the Telugu film Aakashavaani (2021). He came into limelight in 2023 for directing the Telugu web series Save the Tigers, which streamed on Disney+ Hotstar.
Wiki/Biography
Kumar Teja Kakumanu was born on Wednesday, 19 November 1986 (age 36; in 2022) in Dondapadu, Andhra Pradesh, his maternal grandparents’ village. His zodiac sign is Scorpio. He belonged to a farming family and grew up in Abbarajupalem in Thullur Mandal, Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh spending his time in the lemon groves around his home. In an interview, recalling his childhood, he said,
My father is a farmer. I grew up in a very remote village called Aparajapaalem which barely had 300 houses. Our house was in the middle of a lemon grove and that was the kind of life I was exposed to as a child.”
His family used to cultivate cotton, redgram, peanuts, bananas, limes and others on their two-acre land. However, when the government asked for a farm under land collection for capital construction, they had to oblige, even if they didn’t like the idea. He attended Mary Matha English Medium High School in Thullur. After that, he continued his intermediate studies at PB Siddhartha Junior College in Vijayawada. He completed his studies at Sarada Degree College, Vijayawada. In an interview, Teja revealed that he never aspired to be an actor or a director. He was inclined towards politics during his college days in Vijayawada. He is an active student leader and state level executive of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). He started participating in various competitions after noticing his peers winning college competitions and bringing home trophies. While talking about the same, he said
I think it would be nice to win some prizes. I am good at preparing speeches for elocution competitions in a short time. I also work with several theater groups. I love being on stage and behind it, helping set up and arranging the lighting. I entered the competition and won the prize.”
Later, he moved to Hyderabad, Telangana to further his education. Later, he went on to study Master of Performing Arts and Master of Philosophy from Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University, Hyderabad, Telangana. While pursuing his master’s degree, he often traveled to Vijayawada and Guntur to train students for college festivals. He also performed in stage plays in various cities of Andhra Pradesh. Whenever he visited his native village, Abbarajupalem, people would ask him why they couldn’t see him on TV or in films if he was an actor. Apparently, they did not understand that he was a theater artist and did stage plays. She entered the Telugu film industry in 2013 after attending a workshop, where she met filmmaker Pradeep Reddy. Pradeep, who won the National Award for his first Telugu short film Advaitham, suggested Teja to get into films. Teja followed Pradeep’s advice seriously and joined the director’s department. Soon, he developed an interest in making films, and at the same time, he started taking small roles in Telugu films.
Physical appearance
Height (approx): 6′ 2″
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Black
Family
Parents & Siblings
His father is a farmer. He has a sister who lives in the US. His brother is a chartered accountant.
Wife & Children
His wife’s name is Sneha Rao. Together, Teja and Sneha set up an organic juice bar called Yosta in Banjara Hills in Hyderabad in 2013. She has two daughters. One of his daughters is Aradhya Teja.
Teja Kakumanu with his wife and daughter
religion
He is a Hindu.
A little Instagram post of Teja Kakumanu about his religion
Career
Early in his career, he collaborated with Pradeep Advaitham and Mahesh Kathi who were exploring their options as new directors at that time. When Pradeep became a director, Teja worked with him as an associate for the 2014 Telugu films Billa Ranga and Maine Pyar Kiya. He also worked with Mahesh Kathi for the Telugu film Pesarattu (2014) and Sriram Aditya for the Telugu film Bhale Manchi Roju (2015) in the directorial department. At the same time, he acted in dramas.
Theater Artist
She has won various awards for acting in dramas, including the Andhra Pradesh State government’s Nandi Award in 2013 for starring in the drama Kalyani.
Teja Kakumanu in a play at the International Mime Festival
It was her lead role in Kumpulan Sauda’s mytho-historical drama Aruna Barbareekudu (or Barbarika) in 2013 that caught the attention of screenwriter Vijayendra Prasad which landed her a role in Baahubali: The Beginning (2015). Speaking about the same in an interview, he said,
When I acted as Barbareekudu in the play, Covering from The Hans India, attracted Rajamouli, who then offered me the role of Saketudu in Bahubali.”
Teja Kakumanu in and as Barbareekudu
Actor
Teja Kakumanu played various minor roles before portraying a traitor in Baahubali: The Beginning (2015). He started his journey as an actor after getting an opportunity to act in Teja’s Telugu romantic thriller Neeku Naaku Dash Dash (2012). He gained recognition for playing the role of a traitor named Saketudu in the Telugu action epic Baahubali: The Beginning (2015). In the film, Saketudu works as a spy for the violent Kaalakeya tribe who declare war on the Mahishmati kingdom. Baahubali: The Beginning (2015) gained massive popularity and went on to become a pan-Indian film.
Teja Kakumanu as Saketudu in Baahubali The Beginning (2015)
In 2016, he appeared in the zombie comedy Telugu film Thanu Vachenanta. The actor and director plays the lead role of Akhtar Ahmed in the crime drama web series Shoot Out At Alair (2020).
Teja Kakumanu as Akhtar Ahmed in Shoot Out At Alair (2020)
He played the role of Sambadu in the Telugu live-action drama film Aakashavaani (2021), which was released on the streaming platform SonyLIV. or leave the village without his permission. In the movie, Sambadu is Dora’s servant.
Teja Kakumanu as Sambadu in Aakashavaani (2021)
After starring as a cop in the Telugu action-thriller Bheemla Nayak (2022), he played Dr Rajashekar in the Telugu legal drama Mukhachitram. He played the minor role of SP Parasuram in the Telugu crime drama streaming TV series Parampara in 2021 and its sequel in 2022.
Teja Kakumanu as SP Parasuram in Parampara 2 (2022)
Later, he was cast in director Vikram K Kumar’s supernatural horror show Dhootha starring Naga Chaitanya on Amazon Prime.
Director
In 2023, he made his directorial debut with the Telugu comedy relationship drama show Save the Tigers which was streamed on Disney+ Hotstar.
The web series features Chaitanya Krishna, Abhinav Gomatam, Priyadarshi Pulikonda and Harsha Vardhan in lead roles.
Director Teja Kakumanu and actor Priyadarshi with Gangavva on the sets of ‘Save the Tigers’
Others
He worked as the first assistant director for the Telugu film Devadas (2018). He has also worked on the Telugu period romantic drama Sita Ramam (2022), starring Dulquer Salmaan and Mrunal Thakur in the lead roles.
Teja Kakumanu with Mrunal Thakur on the set of Sita Ramam (2022)
Facts/Trivia
- His other name is Kumar Teja.
- In addition to acting and directing, he also trains new actors by holding workshops.
Teja Kakumanu conducts an acting workshop
- Teja is the lead in the Telegu remake of the Marathi film Poster Boys (2017) directed by Akshay Kumar and Rana Daggubati. However, the project was delayed due to unforeseen circumstances. After that, Teja got the lead role in Thanu Vachenanta.
- While talking about the idea behind the Save the Tigers series, in an interview, he said,
When my daughter was born, my wife was invited to a Mother’s Day event. Even though she couldn’t make it, I went over there and played games with other moms and kids. When I shared the video with Pradeep, he created a story.”
- She regularly practices yoga.
Teja Kakumanu does Bakasana yoga pose
- He enjoys gardening and maintaining the patio garden at his home. In an interview, he said his family’s agricultural background attracted his interest in gardening. He followed a tutorial by Charles Dowding, an agronomist who specializes in off-farm organic farming.
Teja Kakumanu in his garden terrace
Categories: Biography
Source: SCHOOL TRANG DAI
