Gummadi Venkateswara Rao widely known as Gummadi, was an Indian film actor and producer, known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema and a few Tamil films. Known as a character actor, Gummadi starred in around five hundred feature films. He received critical reception for his works in Thodu Dongalu (1954) and Mahamantri Timmarusu (1962), for which he has received the erstwhile Rashtrapati Award. Gummadi was an official member of the Indian delegation from South India to the Tashkent Film Festival in 1978 and 1982. Gummadi served as a jury member thrice for the 28th, 33rd, and 39th National Film Awards. He served twice on the state Nandi Awards Committee. In 1977, he was awarded India's fourth-highest civilian honor Padma Shri for his contributions to Indian cinema.