Rajasekhar (actor)

Rajasekhar
Rajashekhar in 2015
Born	Rajashekhar Varadharajan (1962-02-04) 4 February 1962 Lakshmipuram, Madras State, India
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1985-present
Spouse(s)	Jeevitha ( m. 1991)
Children	2
Relatives	Selva (brother)

In this Indian name, the name Varadharajan is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Rajasekhar.

Rajasekhar Varadharajan (born 4 February 1962), known professionally as Rajasekhar, is an Indian actor known for his works primarily in Telugu cinema. In a career spanning more than 38 years, he has acted in over 80 Telugu films in a variety of roles.<ref>Bhat, Prashanth. "Turmoil in T-town". The Times of India.</ref><ref>"Rajasekhar finds policeman's role irresistible<!-- Bot generated title -->". Archived from the original on 3 December 2013.</ref> He starred in several notable films, including Talambralu, Sruthilayalu, Aahuti, Ankusam, Magaadu, Allari Priyudu, Anna, Omkaram, Suryudu, Sivayya, Manasunna Maaraju, Maa Annayya, Simharasi, Evadaithe Nakenti, Gorintaku, and PSV Garuda Vega. Rajasekhar won two Filmfare Best Actor Awards - Telugu for Magaadu and Anna.

The Nature Waldorf School is owned by Rajasekhar and Jeevitha, to whom he is married. The school is affiliated to Dr. Rajasekhar Charitable Trust and started its operations in July 2010. The mission of the school is to impart non-commercialised education to students.<ref>"Nature Waldorf School Hyderabad Admissions 2011-12".</ref><ref>"Rajashekhar "Gotilla Factory" Viral Jobs: Real or Fake? Full Fact Check on Social Media Claims". Telugu Vaadi TV. Archived from the original on 15 January 2026.</ref>

Early life

Rajasekhar was born on 4 February 1962 in Lakshmipuram, Theni district, Tamil Nadu.<ref name=":0">"Happy Birthday Rajasekhar: Some Lesser-Known Facts About Angry Young Man". News18. 4 February 2022.</ref> Although his mother tongue is Tamil, he identifies himself as Telugu.<ref name=":1">ABN Telugu (10 June 2019). Actors Rajasekhar And Jeevitha | Open Heart With RK | Full Episode | ABN Telugu. Retrieved 11 June 2025 – via YouTube.</ref> His father, Varadharajan Gopal, originally from Chittoor district, worked as a Sub-Inspector of Police in Guntur district, where his mother, Andalu, also hails from. According to Rajasekhar, the family migrated to Tamil Nadu and later returned to Andhra Pradesh.<ref name=":1" /><ref name="hin">"Actor Rajasekhar to join politics". The Hindu. 5 February 2008 – via www.thehindu.com.</ref><ref>"Rajasekhar's father Varadarajan Gopalu passes away!". The Times of India. Retrieved 4 February 2022.</ref> His brother, Selva, has acted in Tamil films as a lead actor. Before entering the film industry, Rajasekhar studied medicine (M.B.B.S.) and practiced in Aminjikarai, Chennai while also studying acting course at Adyar film institute to pursue his acting dreams.<ref name=screen>"The Healing Touch". Express India. Archived from the original on 23 October 1999. Retrieved 31 August 2025.</ref><ref name=":0" />

Rajasekhar is a practicing Saiva Hindu, after undergoing a transformative personal experience during his formative years.<ref>Account of Personal Life - Religious Views Source</ref>

Personal life

He married erstwhile actress Jeevitha and has two daughters.<ref>"Bholakpur: cholera claims 1 more". The Hindu. 13 May 2009 – via www.thehindu.com.</ref> Their younger daughter Shivathmika debuted with Dorasaani, in 2019 while their elder daughter Shivani debuted with Adbhutham, in 2021.

Recently, Jeevitha was named as one of the nine members of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), with Pahlaj Nihalani as chairman.<ref>"Actor-director Jeevitha inducted into Censor Board". The Hindu. 20 January 2015 – via www.thehindu.com.</ref>

Career

Rajashekhar made his acting debut in Tamil with Pudhumai Penn (1984) and also had a character role in Puthiya Theerpu (1985) with Vijayakanth. His Telugu film debut was in 1985 with Vande Mataram. Since then, he has acted in variety of films such as Pratighatana, Repati Pourulu, Station Master, Sruthilayalu, Kashmora, Aradhana, Talambralu, Aruna Kiranam, Mamatala Kovela and Akka Mogudu.

Movies from which he rose to fame and created an image of an angry young man in Telugu cinema are Aahuthi, Aartanaadam Nyayam Kosam, Ankusam, Magaadu, Rowdyism Nasinchali, Papa Kosam, Moratodu Naa Mogudu, Anna, Balarama Krishnulu, Agraham, Sivayya, and Evadaithe Nakenti.

He has acted in more than 75 movies though he is mocked for his diction. His voice for most of his Telugu movies was dubbed by Telugu actor Saikumar till 1996 and then was taken over by Srinivasa Moorthy who started dubbing for him in 1997, when he won his first Nandi award for the movie Sivayya. Except for the 2003 film Villain, where Sai's younger brother P. Ravi Shankar dubbed for both Rajasekhar and Vijayan, respectively.

Later, he also gained fame for his family drama films such as Maa Aayana Bangaram, Suryudu, Simharasi, Maa Annayya, Deergha Sumangali Bhava, Manasunna Maaraju and Gorintaku. He was also applauded for his performance in the romance film Allari Priyudu.

He is considered a versatile actor.<ref name="auto">"StarzSecrets: Star Portrait-Dr.Rajasekhar". 15 August 2013.</ref> His performance in Omkaram is a classic example of that, which was directed by Kannada director Upendra. His electrifying performance in the movie Sheshu was applauded critically. His biggest hit of the career came in the year 2007 with Evadaithe Nakenti and his last genuine hit as a lead actor was Gorintaku in the year 2008 until he again tasted success with PSV Garuda Vega in 2017.

Ithu Thaanda Police, the Tamil dub of Ankusam was a hit.<ref>Raghavan, Nikhil (11 June 2011). "Repeat success?". The Hindu.</ref> His Telugu films were dubbed in Tamil such as Magaadu as Meesaikaran.

Filmography

• All films are in Telugu, unless otherwise noted.

Key

Denotes films that have not yet been released

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1984	Pudhumai Penn	Rajasekhar	Tamil film
1985	Puthiya Theerpu	Bhaskar	Tamil film
	Pratighatana	Prakash
	Vande Mataram	Satyam
1986	Ee Prasnaku Baduledi
	Dora Bidda
	Challani Ramayya Chakkani Sitamma
	Talambralu
	Repati Pourulu
	Aruna Kiranam
	Kashmora	Darkha
	Mr. Bharath	Prakash
1987	America Abbayi
	Prajaswamyam	Ashok
	Aahuthi
	Yuga Kartalu	Raju	<ref>"Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 September 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)</ref>
	Idaa Prapancham
	Sruthilayalu	Narayana Murthy
	Aradhana	Lawrence
1988	Nyayam Kosam
	Nava Bharatam
	Annapurnamma Gaari Alludu
	Neeku Naaku Pellanta
	Mr. Hero
	Indra Dhanassu
	Station Master	Rama Rao
	Bava Marudula Saval	Inspector Jai Kumar
1989	Aarta Nadam
	Mamatala Kovela
	Ankusam
	Prajaa Teerpu
	Chennapatnam Chinnollu
	Yamapasam
	Dharma Yuddham
	Manchivaaru Maavaaru
	Vinta Dongalu
1990	Rowdyism Nasinchali
	Silasasanam
	Papa Kosam
	Magaadu
1991	Aagraham
1992	Moratodu Naa Mogudu
	Akka Mogudu
	Ahankari		<ref>"Providing educational opportunities to sex workers" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 September 2016.</ref>
	Balarama Krishnulu	Krishna Murthy
1993	Amma Koduku
	Allari Priyudu	Raja
1994	Gangmaster	Raja
	Anga Rakshakudu
	Aavesam
	Anna	Komaranna
1995	Raja Simham	Major Raj Kumar / Chinna Raja and Shrimannarayana
	Ghatotkachudu	Karna	Cameo appearance
1996	Vetagadu
1997	Ratha Yatra
	Omkaram	Satya
	Maa Aayana Bangaram
1998	Suryudu	Suryam
	Deergha Sumangali Bhava	Rama Rao
	Sivayya	Sivayya
1999	Neti Gandhi
	Bobbili Vamsam	Raghava Rayudu
	Mechanic Mavayya	Raju/Siva
2000	Ravanna	Ravanna
	Okkadu Chaalu	Surya
	Manasunna Maaraju	Dorababu
	Maa Annayya	Madhu and Gopalam
2001	Simharasi	Narasimharaju
	Subhakaryam
2002	Seshu	Seshu
	Bharatasimha Reddy	Raja / Devudayya
2003	Aayudham	Siddartha
	Villain	Siva and Vishnu
2004	Aaptudu	Bose
2005	Nayakudu	Raju
2006	Rajababu	Rajababu
2007	Evadaithe Nakenti	Major Surya
2008	Gorintaku	Ashok and Sarvarayudu
2009	Satyameva Jayate	DCP Sathya	Also writer
	Naa Style Veru	Sivaram
2010	Maa Annayya Bangaram	Sivaji
2013	Mahankali	ACP Mahankali
2015	Gaddam Gang	Daasu
2017	PSV Garuda Vega	Pullela Chandrashekhar
2019	Kalki	Kalki IPS
2020	Arjuna
2021	Deyyam	Shankar
2022	Shekhar	Sekhar	<ref>"Dr Rajasekhar And Daughter Shivani To Act Together in Upcoming Telugu Film Sekhar". News18. 13 January 2022.</ref>
2023	Extra Ordinary Man	IG Vijay Chakravarthy
2026	Biker	TBA

Awards

• Nandi Award for Best Villain - Talambralu (1986)<ref>"నంది అవార్డు విజేతల పరంపర (1964–2008)" [A series of Nandi Award Winners (1964–2008)] (PDF). Information & Public Relations of Andhra Pradesh. Retrieved 21 August 2020.(in Telugu)</ref>
• Filmfare Award for Best Actor - Telugu - Magaadu (1990)<ref> Refer Filmfare Magazine August 1991 Madras Awards:Winners</ref>
• Filmfare Award for Best Actor - Telugu - Anna (1994)<ref>"42nd Annual Filmfare Awards South Telugu & Malayalam Winners". 5 August 2024.</ref><ref>"Manikchand Congratulates" (JPG).</ref>

External links

• Rajasekhar on IMDb