I joined the Madras Christian College but dropped out after three months. Telugu music director Ramesh Naidu asked me to assist him, and I did so for over a year. I did think of rejoining college, but by then, I was discovering the musician in me. I worked with Illaya Raja and Raj Koti and soon shifted to commercials. This led to movie offers.
A. R. Rahman
My mother is a Chitrapur Saraswat from Mangalore and half-Telugu, and my father is a Bohri Muslim. My mother's father, J Rameshwar Rao, was the Raja of Wanaparthy, a principality of Hyderabad. He was influenced by the socialist movement and became the first Raja to give up his title.
Aditi Rao Hydari
My formative years were not spent in Hyderabad, so I can only understand Telugu, but I love the culture.
My mother tongue is Telugu. I was born and brought up in Tamil Nadu.
Aishwarya Rajesh
In Telugu filmdom, audiences like to see their hero dance, fight and play a larger-than-life character. It's precisely why most of our commercial films do extremely well and get remade too.
Akhil Akkineni
Humor and family emotions are integral to Telugu cinema.
I want to thank the audience of both the Telugu speaking states for standing by me throughout my journey.
Allu Arjun
I speak Tamil and Telugu better than Bengali.
Amala Akkineni
I was in Hyderabad shooting for a Telugu film with Mahesh Babu when Aamir called, saying he wanted me to play the widow Jwala in 'Mangal Pandey.'
Amisha Patel
I started with Tamil film, then Hindi. Now, I am also doing a Telugu film. The journey has been wonderful so far.
Amy Jackson
I have worked really hard to reach where I am - I worked hard on my Hindi and diction because I am a Parsi and Hindi is not my strong point, and I've also learnt Tamil and Telugu because I want to get my lines right. I want to be known as a performer.
Amyra Dastur
I really respect Telugu cinema and the fact that people out here have a totally different style of working and are at par with Bollywood. Sometimes, they beat Bollywood with the kind of films they make.
The fact that I did a Tamil film is going to help me a lot in learning Telugu.
Like Tamil audiences, the Telugus, too, are welcoming of novelty. The fact that 'Arjun Reddy,' which had no regular songs, became such a big hit, says it all.
Andrea Jeremiah
Should I be offered the right kind of script, I will be doing a straight Telugu film.
I have lot of respect of filmmakers who work in Telugu and Tamil.
Anil Kapoor
I have been inspired by world cinema in different ways. But no, 'Raja The Great' is not a copy. It's not based on any film. You will see a lot of Telugu nativity, moreover.
Anil Ravipudi
Music has no language. That's something I've come to believe in even more ever since 'Kolaveri Di' happened. I don't deliberately make separate Tamil, Hindi, or Telugu tracks.
Anirudh Ravichander
It was when I was shooting for a Telugu film in Hyderabad when director Meher Ramesh approached me for 'Veera Kannadiga.' I was game to explore a new language and said yes.
Anita Hassanandani Reddy
Tollywood has a special place in my heart because Telugu is my mother tongue, and when I sing in the language, my mom feels really happy.
Armaan Malik
My mother is a Telugu, so I have been familiar with the language since childhood.
While I can't speak Telugu, I do understand the language.
I have sung in all languages, and so every people know me - Gujarati, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu.
I can understand Tamil and Telugu when a conversation is aimed at me, but I cannot hold a conversation.
Once there was this Telugu film about a ghost. It sounded too hackneyed. 'Probably it will turn out fine,' I told myself and went ahead and... it was a disaster.
'Amma Nanna O Tamila Ammayi' has a very nice subject which I think could be remade into a Hindi film. It was my first film in Telugu for which I got Filmfare Award for the best actress.
Apart from English, I speak my mother tongue Malayalam, as well as Tamil, Telugu, and a bit of Kannada and French.
Having done movies in Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, and Hindi, I have been accepted both in North and down South. I don't believe in divisions. I like to believe that I am working in the Indian film industry.
I am not really missing theatre as I get to act in films, that too in different languages, such as Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Marathi, my mother tongue.
In fact, my earliest films were in Tamil and Telugu and since then I have been acting in all languages.
I have done 33 films in one year, for which I hold a Guinness Book World record. Plus I've done songs for all languages from Hindi to Malayalam, Punjabi to Telugu, and Kannada to Oriya.
For 'Tevar' we chose Amit Sharma to do the Hindi version of the Telugu hit 'Okkadi' because we wanted to change the flavour and mood of the original.
It's been a long and wonderful journey for me but feels like it was just the other day when I started my career in films. I am very grateful to this wonderful Telugu cinema industry and the audience for all the love and unflinching support without which it would not have been possible.
I have regional films, Bengali and Telugu, but always wanted to do a Marathi film especially because I think this industry makes the best comedy films.
In Tamil and Telugu, I have to do mainstream commercial films. Irrespective of what I want to do, the audience wants to see me in that 'mass' space.
I am an actress. My first film was a Telugu film, my second film was Bollywood, and third was Indo-Chinese.
Bollywood is a different ballgame. I am quite used to Tamil and Telugu films.
Just as the cultures, lifestyle and food differ vastly from our own, music for the Tamil/Telugu audience is vastly different from that of Mollywood.
Telugu and Tamil industries keenly watch Malayalam movies and are appreciative of the content, be it 'Ustad Hotel,' 'Premam' or 'Bangalore Days.' They've also been listening to our music. That's how I was approached for Telugu films.
I like the way the Telugu industry treats an artiste, they show a lot of respect.
Every day I receive a lot of messages on Facebook from people of A.P. and Telangana, mostly about songs from my Telugu movies. From the messages, I get a lot of ideas about the music they like.
I'm half Telugu. My mom is Telugu and dad, a Maharashtrian. I was brought up in Gwalior. I was exposed to English, Hindi, and Marathi. I heard my mom speak to her family in Telugu, so I got the hang of it.
I just can't stop doing Telugu films just when I have started speaking a little better Telugu.
Just like how you find players from different backgrounds in Indian cricket team, our Telugu industry is looking for talent, and it doesn't matter where it comes from.
I so wish my dad was alive to see me do a Hindi film after acting in six Telugu movies. I sometimes imagine him giving me feedback on my work. But I derive strength from knowing he is watching over me.
One day, I went to meet a film producer and entered the wrong flat. It was a casting agency, and they suggested that I audition for a four-hero Telugu film. I was confirmed a month later. Interestingly, it's not easy down South for a newcomer to bag positive roles, but I was adamant.
I've learnt that there's absolutely no difference in Telugu and Hindi industries. Everything is almost identical. The only difference is that Hindi films have a wider release.
When I first started out in Telugu cinema, I signed anything and everything that came my way. I was 18, was immature, and it felt like a good idea that 'Oh, they are paying me a good amount of money.' I was young, naive; I had zero ambition, and honestly, it wasn't my calling.
Telugu heroes are made into demi-gods. The fans here are sincere, and even if the film is bad, they will see it and stand by the actors they like.
I've done a host of Tamil and Telugu films, a Bengali one, too.
