Krishnam Raju stepped in to the film industry with 'Chilaka Gorinka' (1966) in the direction of Kotayya Pratyagatma, which obtained him the Silver Nandi Award.

Although he started his career as a villain, he transformed into a star hero within a short span of time and enacted multi-hued roles in films like 'Rangoon Raudy', Bobbili Brahmanna', 'Thandra Paparayudu', 'Bhaktha Kannappa', 'Amara Deepam', 'Mana Voori Pandavulu', 'Katakatala Rudraiah' and so on, which seemed to have been tailor made for him. It seemed none could have done justice to those roles better than him. His performance in 'Amara Deepam' was lauded with a President's Award and a Filmfare Award was given for 'Mana Voori Pandavulu'.

Krishnam Raju's unparalleled performance gained him the nickname of Rebel Star on silver screen. He then turned into producer and made 'Krishnaveni' (1974) as the first production on Gopikrishna Movies, in the direction of V. Madhusudhan Rao.

He also carries an honorable personality in real life. An optimist to the core, he accepts success and failure equally. He exhibits complete dedication and honesty in his every job. He was elected thrice as President of the Cine Artists Society.

He even stepped into politics, and was elected as a Member of Parliament in 1998. He has served as a Union Minister in various portfolios.

After his unsuccessful stint with Chiranjeevi's Praja Rajyam, which joined just before the Assembly polls in 2009, he is back to films, where he wants to prove his mettle, if possible, as a director now.

Krishnam Raju is born on January 20th, and on this occasion Indiaglitz wishes him a very happy birthday.