Surendra Yarlagadda
Satyavathi Akkineni
Education
Sumanth studied at the Hyderabad Public School, completing his high school in I992. For his undergraduate studies, he went to the United States, where he enrolled in an engineering course at Michigan. Realizing that engineering didn't match his career aspirations, he later transferred to Columbia College in Chicago, where he majored in film. During his senior year in university, he was selected to the Dean's list in recognition of his academic excellence.
Career
However in late 2003, after a self-imposed hiatus of almost two years, he delivered his first blockbuster, Satyam. It also happened to be Genelia D'Souza's debut Telugu film. Sathyam, which was produced by Akkineni Nagarjuna, was one of the highest grossing films of that year. Sumanth revealed later that this was one film where he actively involved himself in the production aspects as well. He followed it up with another hit film, Gowri, which confirmed him as a bonafide box office draw. It was a remake of the hit Tamil film Thirumalai, which starred Vijay and Jyothika. Gowri was instrumental in giving him an action image as well amongst the masses. In 2005, he starred in the flop Dhana 51 and the moderate hit Mahanandi, in which Anushka Shetty co-starred opposite him.
In 2006, Sumanth played the lead in Sekhar Kammula's romantic comedy Godavari. It remains one of the most acclaimed films of his career. In addition to receiving rave reviews and box office success, it went on to win multiple Nandi and Filmfare awards. The film was especially successful in giving Sumanth a new urban and Telugu international following. It is widely regarded as a modern day classic.
Sumanth's next film was the average running action/drama Chinnodu (2006). In 2007, he starred in two movies: Madhumasam and Classmates. The former, a romantic comedy produced by his uncle D. Ramanaidu, was a hit at the box office, whereas the latter did not fare too well. In early 2008, Sumanth's home production, the action/drama Pourudu turned out to be a decent success at the box office. It was especially hailed for its action episodes. However his next film, Boni, produced by the music director Ramana Gogula and released in mid-2009, failed to repeat his previous success.
In 2010, after a gap of almost a year, Sumanth starred in Golconda High School, directed by the national award winning Indraganti Mohan Krishnaunder the Artbeat Capital banner, which previously produced the hit film Ashta Chamma. It was based on the English novel The Men Within written by the ex-cricketer, Harimohan Paruvu, and it is regarded to be Telugu cinema's first film in the sports genre. Released on January 15, 2011, it garnered excellent critical acclaim and was declared a commercial hit as well. Many critics and the public termed Sumanth's portrayal of a young cricket coach as one of his finest roles to date. This film is also slated to be dubbed into English for an upcoming international release.
Sumanth's next film was the romantic drama Raaj opposite the national award winning actress Priyamani, and Vimala Raman. The film was directed by V.N. Aditya, who earlier directed Manasantha Nuvve, Aata, and Nenunnanu. This film was released in March 2011, but failed miserably at the box office. To the surprise of many, Sumanth openly admitted after release that he wasn't expecting much from this film as it was plagued with several problems during production. It was more or less a "salvage operation" according to him.
Subsequently, Sumanth starred in Daggaragaa Dooramgaa, a romantic thriller under the direction of the National and Nandi award winning writer/director Ravi Kumar Chavali, who earlier made the hit films Bachelors and Samanyudu. It released in August 2011, and did below average business at the box office. A lot of people cited the lack of proper promotion as one of the main reasons for its mediocre performance.
At present, Sumanth has signed up to act in a multi-starrer that's scheduled to go on floor this May. He is also planning a home production in which he would also star in later this year.
Personal life
Sumanth was born in Hyderabad, India on February 9, 1975. He is the only son of Surendra Yarlagadda and the late Satyavathi Akkineni. A few months after his birth, his parents returned to the US where they were residing. Sumanth however remained in India on the request of his grandfather, Akkineni Nageswara Rao. He was subsequently adopted by his grandfather and his grandmother, the late Annapurna Akkineni.
In August 2004, Sumanth married former actress Keerthi Reddy. They were however amicably divorced in 2006.
Filmography
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