Navdeep Pallapolu (born 26 January 1986) is an Indian actor and television personality who predominantly appears in the Telugu film industry alongside Tamil and Hindi works.[3] He made his film debut in 2004 with the patriotic sports drama Jai. His notable works include Arinthum Ariyamalum (2005), Gowtam SSC (2005), Chandamama (2007), Arya 2 (2009), Baadshah (2013), Ice Cream (2014), Dhruva (2016), Nene Raju Nene Mantri (2016), Ragini MMS: Returns 2 (2019), Ala Vaikunthapurramloo (2020), Seeru (2020), Masti's (2020), Run (2020), Newsense (2023) and Eagle (2024).

Navdeep
Navdeep in 2010
Born
Navdeep Pallapolu[1]

(1986-01-26) 26 January 1986 (age 38)[2]
NationalityIndian
Occupations
  • Actor
  • television personality
Years active2004–present

Navdeep is prominent in the television industry, finishing as a finalist in the first season of reality TV show Bigg Boss. He hosted the game shows Super and Tollywood Squares and was a judge on the comedy show Adhirindi.[4]

Career

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Films

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Navdeep's first film appearance was in the 2004 Telugu romantic film, Jai, in which he played an Indian boxer fighting Laskar-E-Taiba terrorists. The movie was a success.[5] In the 2005 Tamil film Arinthum Ariyamalum, he portrayed a hero who is the son of the don, Prakash Raj, who was estranged from his father.[6] His following films were primarily forgettable and failed at the box office.

His biggest break was the 2007 film Chandamama, where he starred along with Kajal Aggarwal, in which his performance as a flirty and naughty youth won praise. The film was one of the biggest blockbusters of 2007, and Navdeep and Kajal won accolades.[7] He later essayed a lead role in Arya 2 opposite Kajal once again and Allu Arjun, and he received praise for his character with grey shades. Despite it being a multi starrer with Allu Arjun, Navdeep made his presence felt in this box office hit.[8]

From 2010 till 2013, he continued to star in diverse films, which include Om Shanti opposite Aditi Sharma, Kajal Aggarwal, and Nikhil Siddharth, the mystery thriller Yagam, slapstick comedy Mugguru, romantic drama Aakasame Haddu, a cameo in Oh My Friend, and the thriller Mythri, none of which made a mark at the box office.

In 2013, Navdeep played the antagonist opposite Jr. NTR in Baadshah, and the film was a blockbuster. Later that year, he starred in masala flick Vasool Raja, in which Srihari played an important role. That movie failed at the box office. That same year, he had given his voice to an HIV/AIDS education animated software tutorial created by the nonprofit organization TeachAids.[9] In 2014, his crime comedy Bangaru Kodipetta was an average venture, in which he starred opposite Swathi Reddy, and then he played the male lead in the supernatural horror flick Ice Cream, which was a hit at the box office. He also hosted the "3rd South Indian International Movie Awards" that year. He played a cameo role in Anukshanam and his next film Poga flopped. In 2015, he starred in another crime drama Bham Bolenath, which flopped miserably, and played a cameo in Tamil movie Idhu Enna Maayam.

In 2016, Navdeep hosted the 1st IIFA Utsavam Awards with Allu Sirish and Regina Cassandra. He also made a cameo appearance in the Hindi flick Azhar and played an important supporting character in Ram Charan's blockbuster movie Dhruva. He later played a crucial role in Nene Raju Nene Mantri in 2017, which also starred Rana Daggubati. He finished as in 4th place on the reality TV show Bigg Boss Telugu in 2017. In 2018 he starred in Gangstars, a crime drama web series alongside Jagapati Babu and Swetha Basu Prasad. The series was promoted heavily like a film and got a positive reception. After nearly 3 years in 2018, following the new success of Gangstars, he starred as a hero once again in romantic comedy Next Enti, opposite Tamannaah and Sundeep Kishan. This film unfortunately failed at the box office. In 2020, he played a supporting role in blockbuster action comedy Ala Vaikunthapurramloo, which stars Allu Arjun and Pooja Hegde. In the same year, Navdeep starred as the main lead in psychological thriller Run, which was panned by critics.

Television

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Navdeep has hosted the Fear Factor adaptation in Telugu, Super, along with a few film festivals. His most notable appearance in Television was as a wildcard contestant in popular reality TV show Bigg Boss Telugu, in which he gained large praise and exposure due to his charm and wit. He finished in 4th place. He then appeared in Yupp TV's rom-com Mana Mugguri Love Story, in which he played a wealthy, successful, and suave young businessman. The show also starred Tejaswi Madivada and Adith Arun in lead roles, and was received well. In 2018, he started hosting his own game show Tollywood Squares on Star Maa, and many celebrities came to participate. The show had 26 episodes in the first season.

Filmography

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Telugu films

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Year Title Role Notes
2004 Jai Jairam
2005 Manasu Maata Vinadhu Venu
Modati Cinema Sreeram
Gowtam SSC Goutham
2006 Premante Inte Veeru
Seethakoka Chiluka Cheenu
2007 Poramboku Karthik
Chandamama Kishore
2008 Ready Swapna's Boyfriend Guest appearance
Keka Dubbing artist for Raja Voice role
2009 Ride Cameo appearance
Arya 2 Ajay
2010 Om Shanti Anand
Yagam Santosh
2011 Mugguru Pavan
Aakasame Haddu Karthik
Oh My Friend Uday
2012 Mythri Deepu
2013 Baadshah Aadi IPS
Vasool Raja Raja
2014 Bangaru Kodipetta Vamsi
Ice Cream Vishal
Mukunda Varadarajulu
Anukshanam Ajit Cameo appearance
Poga Shiva
2015 Bham Bolenath Vivek
Dongaata Himself Special appearance in "Break Up Antu"
2016 Dhruva Gowtham IPS
2017 Nene Raju Nene Mantri Siva
2018 Next Enti Krish
2020 Ala Vaikunthapurramloo Shekhar
Run Sandeep Reddy
2021 Mosagallu Vijay
2024 Eagle Jai [10]
Operation Valentine Wing Commander Kabir Cameo appearance [11]
Love Mouli Mouli
Yevam Producer

Other language films

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Year Film Role Language Notes
2005 Arinthum Ariyamalum Sathya Tamil
2006 Nenjil Anand
2008 Aegan Narain
2009 A Aa E Ee Akash
Solla Solla Inikkum Sathya
2015 Idhu Enna Maayam Santosh Cameo appearance
2016 Azhar Meera's boyfriend Hindi Cameo appearance
2020 Seeru Ashok Mithran Tamil
2024 Operation Valentine Kabir Hindi Cameo appearance [11]

Television

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Year Show Role Network Notes
2011–2016 Super Host ETV 2 seasons
2017 Bigg Boss 1 Contestant Star Maa Finalist
2017 Mana Mugguri Love Story Surya Yupp TV Web Series debut
2018 Tollywood Squares Host Star Maa
2018 Gangstars Vishwa Amazon Prime Video
2019–2020 Ragini MMS: Returns 2 Rajeev ZEE5 Hindi series
2020 Adhirindi Judge Zee Telugu
2020 Masti's Pranav aha
2021 Ram Yug Vibheeshana MX Player
2023 Newsense Shiva Aha [12]
2023 Maya Bazaar For Sale Abhijeet ZEE5

Drug case

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On October 11 2023, Navdeep was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for over eight hours in connection with a drug case. The ED recorded his statement as part of an ongoing investigation. The Telangana State Anti-Narcotics Bureau had previously interrogated Navdeep in relation to a case involving alleged contact with Nigerian drug peddlers. He had been granted anticipatory bail by the Telangana high court but was served a notice under Section 41A of the CrPC. The ED is investigating the money laundering angle in a 2017 drug scandal based on chargesheets filed by the excise department in multiple drug cases. Several other Tollywood actors, including Rakul Preet Singh, Rana Daggubati, Ravi Teja, Charmee Kaur, Mumaith Khan, Tanish, Nandu, and Tarun have also been questioned by the ED in connection with this case, which primarily revolves around key accused Calvin Mascarenhas and others involved in the drug trade.[13]

References

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  1. ^ "Tollywood drug case: Navdeep refuses to give hair, nail samples". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  2. ^ "Happy Birthday Navdeep: The Self-Made Actor is extremely fond of pets and these photos prove so". The Times of India. 26 January 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
  3. ^ "'I've survived'". The Hindu. 22 September 2014. Archived from the original on 6 June 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2020 – via www.thehindu.com.
  4. ^ "Adhirindi: Bigg Boss Telugu fame Navdeep continues to judge the show this season". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 13 January 2020. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  5. ^ https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/telugu-cinema/navdeep-is-tired-of-being-typecast-it-hurts-when-filmmakers-say-i-have-potential-but-101717673505314.html
  6. ^ "Navdeep to play villain in Jiiva's next". Cinema Express. 28 January 2019.
  7. ^ Vardhan, G. P. Aditya (10 September 2007). "Chandamama, a good entertainer". Rediff.com.
  8. ^ "Telugu Movie review - Arya 2". Idlebrain.com. 27 November 2009. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
  9. ^ "Tollywood actor, Navdeep Pallapollu, joins TeachAids". 30 October 2009.
  10. ^ "Ravi Teja's 'Eagle' officially drops from the Sankranti race; new release date announced!". The Times of India. 5 January 2024.
  11. ^ a b "Varun Tej wraps filming for his Hindi debut 'Operation Valentine' with Manushi Chhillar". The Times of India. 20 October 2023.
  12. ^ The Times of India (9 May 2023). "Navdeep and Bindhu Madhavi starrer web series 'Newsense' to premiere on May 12th; watch the teaser". Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  13. ^ The Times of India, The Times of India (11 October 2023). "Drug case: ED grills Tollywood actor Navdeep for 8 hours". The Times of India. The Times of India. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
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