Giri Babu, Telugu cinema’s enduring character actor, dies

His family now plans to take him back to Ravinuthala, his native village in Andhra Pradesh’s Prakasam district, for last rites on Sunday, November 15, after 3 p.m. His elder son, actor and comedian Raghu Babu, said the family had made that decision together. The ceremony remains an announced plan; its completion has not been confirmed.⁠4

Born Yerra Seshagiri Rao, and known professionally as Giri Babu or Giribabu, he built a career whose significance lies partly in its adaptability. Audiences who first encountered him as a leading man could later find him playing an antagonist, supplying comedy or anchoring a supporting role. His place in Telugu cinema was not confined to one kind of film or one generation of stars.⁠2⁠3

His released debut was Jagame Maya in 1973. But, as Suresh Kavirayani recounted in Cinema Express, that beginning followed three disappointments. Dhairye Sahase Lakshmi stopped shooting before completion. Thappatadugulu was shelved too. A third project, Swarganiki Nichenalu, halted after nearly six reels had been shot.⁠7

Already married with children, Giri Babu left Chennai for Ravinuthala, intending to concentrate on his family and agriculture. Cinema Express’s account describes a rejection of cinema that went beyond giving up the search for work: he stopped going to theatres and did not want to hear film songs. Family members would switch off the radio when they saw him approaching.⁠7

A friend sent his photographs to a production house looking for newcomers. The resulting offer for Jagame Maya brought him back. Before the film reached audiences, he had signed nearly seven films. Fellow cast member Murali Mohan became a close and lasting friend. The episode gives the subsequent scale of his working life a different weight: the long career was not the inevitable outcome of an easy entrance.⁠7

Raghu Babu put his father’s total at more than 650 films, including two or three in other languages, with the overwhelming majority in Telugu. That family figure is compatible with the broader tally of more than 600 reported by The Hindu, India Today and Times Now; it is a more specific account, not a conflicting one.⁠4⁠2⁠8⁠3

He worked alongside N. T. Rama Rao, Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Krishna, and later Chiranjeevi, Mohan Babu and Nagarjuna. In the 1977 mythological film Kurukshetram, he played Dushasana. Credits including Jyothi, Pasivadi Pranam, Hello Brother, Sisindri and Little Soldiers show the breadth of the films through which audiences knew him. Later appearances in Gamyam, Geetha Govindam, Jathi Ratnalu and Oke Oka Jeevitham kept him visible in a changing industry.⁠3⁠8

Raghu Babu described his father’s working years as running from 1973 until 2022. Telangana Today identifies Anni Manchi Sakunamule, released in 2023, as his final screen appearance. Those accounts need not be at odds: a release date does not establish when an actor performed his scenes. The released films bookend a fifty-year span; the filming date of his last work is not established.⁠4⁠1

Giri Babu also took responsibility for getting films made. His producing credits included Simha Garjana, featuring Krishna, the successful cowboy film Merupudadi, and Indrajith. He directed Ranarangam in 1985, with Bhanuchander and Sumalatha as the leads, and Indrajith in 1990, starring his younger son. His directing work also included Nee Sukhame Ne Korukunna in 2008.⁠1⁠4⁠3

He was associated with producing Devathalara Deevinchandi, which Raghu Babu credited as the first black-and-white Telugu CinemaScope film. That claim of historical priority remains the son’s account, rather than an independently established record. His broader contribution as an actor, producer and director is much more securely documented.⁠4⁠8

Chiranjeevi recognised all three roles in his tribute, praising Giri Babu’s distinctive acting and style. In the English wording reproduced by India Today, he described the loss in unequivocal terms.⁠8

Director Anil Ravipudi remembered his versatility and the affection his performances retained among audiences. Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy recalled a more personal connection: Giri Babu’s friendship with his father and his active role in the party, alongside his screen work. The Movie Artistes Association mourned a life member.⁠8⁠2

Raghu Babu supplied the detailed account of his father’s final illness in remarks reported by Cinema Express. He said Giri Babu had been suffering from Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, along with a lung infection, for two and a half years. He had withdrawn from acting and had been bedridden for six to seven months. His blood pressure and blood sugar suddenly fell on Saturday, Raghu Babu said, and he died at around 3 p.m. These are family-reported medical details, not an independently reviewed determination of the immediate cause of death. The hospital has not been named in the available reports.⁠4⁠1

His exact age is unresolved. In their November 14 reports, The Hindu and India Today gave his age as 80, while Times Now reported 83. June 8 is consistently given as his birthday, but biographical references differ between 1946 and 1943. Telangana Today gives 1946; older references also preserve the disagreement. No primary birth record reviewed resolves it, so neither age should be presented as settled.⁠2⁠8⁠3⁠1⁠6⁠51

He leaves two sons and a daughter. Raghu Babu, the elder son, is himself a familiar Telugu comedian and character actor. Younger son Bose Babu, also rendered Bosu Babu, entered cinema too. Giri Babu’s wife, Sridevi, died following illness in 2016.⁠8⁠1

His remains were kept at the Telugu Film Chamber building in Hyderabad for film workers and fans to pay their respects. The Movie Artistes Association had announced a viewing from 7 to 9 p.m. on Saturday; that announced window has passed. For Sunday’s last rites in Ravinuthala, near Medarametla, the association specified a 3–4 p.m. window, consistent with Raghu Babu’s account of a ceremony beginning after 3 p.m.⁠4⁠2

Raghu Babu thanked the actors, technicians and others who contacted the family with condolences and support. The next planned journey is home to the village near Ongole where his father once returned believing his future lay outside films—before a new offer opened the way to fifty years of released work.⁠4⁠7