Celebrating 65 Years of Venkatesh Daggubati: Actor’s Rs 100 crore milestone and what’s next

New Delhi:Venkatesh Daggubati, fondly called the “Victory” star of Telugu cinema, is celebrating his 65th birthday and still enjoying strong love from audiences. For nearly four decades, he has entertained families with emotional dramas, comedies and action films that people of all ages can watch together.

Now, as he enjoys a new career high with a blockbuster in the Rs 100 crore club and several big projects lined up, fans are excited to see how the senior star is reinventing himself yet again.

Venkatesh Daggubati’s career and films

Venkatesh built his image by choosing films that entire families could enjoy, which helped him stay close to the audience and earn their trust. Early in his career, he delivered a long list of hits that placed him alongside Chiranjeevi, Balakrishna and Nagarjuna among the top Telugu heroes. Even though he has slowed down in recent years, his popularity and fan base have continued to grow.

The biggest recent turning point in his career is the 2025 film Sankranthik Vasthunamwhich took him into the Rs 100 crore club. Released for the Sankranti festival, the film became his biggest solo success, earning more than Rs 250 crore worldwide and cementing his place among the top Tollywood stars. With this success, he became only the second senior actor, after Chiranjeevi, to enter the Rs 100 crore club with a solo film.

Sankranthik Vasthunamco-starring Aishwarya Rajesh, Meenakshi Chaudhary, P Sai Kumar, VTV Ganesh, Sarvadaman D Banerjee, Upendra Limaye and Srinivas Avasarala, was praised for its mix of family drama, comedy and action. Alongside his big-screen success, Venkatesh has stayed in the spotlight through web and OTT projects such as Rana Naidu Season 2where Rana Daggubati leads the story, and Arjun Rampal appears in a widely discussed negative role. His 2024 film Saindhava stylish action thriller about a former criminal forced back into the underworld to save his sick daughter, also earned attention for its emotional core.

Workfront

His upcoming lineup shows no sign of slowing down. In Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu, scheduled for Sankranthi 2026, he will share the screen with Chiranjeevi for the first time, under the direction of Anil Ravipudi, with Nayanthara in an important role. He is also teaming up with director Trivikram Srinivas for a project reportedly titled Bandhu Mitrula Abhinandanalatho, and another announced film, Aadarsha Kutumbam House No: 47 – AK 47which has already started shooting and is slated for a 2026 release.