Sarath Babu

Sathyam Babu Dixithulu (31 July 1951 – 22 May 2023), known by his stage name Sarath Babu, was an Indian actor who worked predominantly in Tamil and Telugu cinema. He appeared in more than 300 films, including in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and a few Malayalam and Hindi films. He has received eight state Nandi Awards.

Babu was noted for his height, handsome looks, and charming smile throughout his acting career, which spanned for around five decades. He was known for his compelling screen presence, especially known for his camaraderie with Rajinikanth in the films where the duo acted together. He had also shared screen space with Kamal Haasan in many films.

Personal life

Sarath Babu was born as Sathyam Babu Dixithulu on 31 July 1951. He was in a live-in relationship with Telugu actress Rama Prabha during the 1980s. The duo separated themselves from the living together lifestyle in 1988, and Rama blamed Babu by making allegations that he had cheated her and snatched all of her properties in Chennai. Babu denied the allegations but admitted to being in a relationship with Rama. However, he asserted that he had no intention of unlawfully claiming others' properties. Babu himself confirmed that he was much younger than Rama when he entered into a relationship with her.

Career

Although Babu's father, a hotelier, wanted him to manage the family business, Babu aspired to become a police officer. However, he developed shortsightedness during his college years, which prevented him from joining the police force. Many people close to Babu felt he could enter the film industry as an actor, and though his father objected, his mother was supportive.

Babu entered the film industry in 1973 through the Telugu film Rama Rajyam. He made his Tamil film debut with Pattina Pravesam (1977), directed by K. Balachander. He later became popular through the Tamil film Nizhal Nijamagiradhu (1978), which was also directed by Balachander. Balachander would eventually become Babu's guru in film career.

Babu's maiden collaboration with Rajinikanth, Mullum Malarum (1978), which was the directorial debut for Mahendran, became an evergreen cult classic hit in Tamil cinema, and the film also marked an important milestone in Tamil cinema. His supporting role alongside Rajinikanth received critical acclaim, and his performance in the film's song Senthazham Poovil became the talk of the town across Tamil Nadu. He later developed a deep rooted friendship with Rajinikanth following the success of Mullum Malarum.

Babu's other collaborations with Rajinikanth, such as Annamalai (1992) and Muthu (1995), also stamped his authority as a go-to supporting actor and was also praised for his onscreen chemistry with Rajinikanth, which was fueled by his characterization in those films. Babu played the role of a friend for Rajinikanth before becoming his foe in Annamalai and for Babu's performance in Annamalai as a villain, it stirred memes in social media even several years after the release of the film. He also tasted success in Kannada cinema with Amruthavarshini (1997).

Babu's last film acting role came in Vasantha Mullai, which released in 2023. Films such as Malli Pelli and Por Thozhil were posthumous releases of him.

Illness and death

In April 2023, it was reported that Babu was suffering from sepsis. He died from multiple organ failure on 22 May 2023, after being admitted in a ventilator at a private hospital in Hyderabad, Telangana. He was 71. Sarath Babu's final rites were performed in Chennai.

Partial filmography

List of Sarath Babu film credits

Year	Title	Role	Language
1973	Stree		Telugu
	Rama Rajyam
1976	Raaja	Advocate Ramu
1977	Pattina Pravesam		Tamil
	Panthulamma		Telugu
1978	Nizhal Nijamagiradhu	Venkatachalam	Tamil
	Indradhanussu	Nagesh	Telugu
	Vattathukkul Chaduram		Tamil
	Sahasavanthudu	Gopi	Telugu
	Maro Charitra
	Uyirullavarai		Tamil
	Mullum Malarum	Kumaran
	Mudi Sooda Mannan	Bhairavan
	Ithu Eppadi Irukku
	Nenjil Aadum Poo Ondru
1979	Guppedu Manasu	Buchi Babu	Telugu
	Agal Vilakku	Doctor	Tamil
	Mambazhathu Vandu
	Nadagame Ullagam
	Nool Veli
	Srungara Ramudu		Telugu
	Idi Katha Kaadu	Bharani
	Ninaithale Inikkum	Guest appearance	Tamil
	Andamaina Anubhavam		Telugu
	Tayaramma Bangarayya
	Urvasi Neeve Naa Preyasi
	Padhai Marinaal		Tamil
	Suprabatham
	Uthiripookkal	Prakash
	Chakkalathi	Guest Appearance
	Thisai Maariya Paravaigal	Rangamani
	Sarapancharam	Swami	Malayalam
	Pancha Bhoothalu		Telugu
1980	Nadhiyai Thedi Vandha Kadal		Tamil
	Kannil Theriyum Kathaikal
	Megathukkum Dhagam Undu
	Manmatha Ragangal
	Moodu Mulla Bandham		Telugu
	Nenjathai Killathe	Chandrasekhar	Tamil
	Ponnagaram
	Oru Iravu Oru Paravai
	Mangala Nayagi
	Saranam Ayyappa
	Andharangam Oomaiyanathu
	Pudhiya Thoranangal
	Uchakattam	Dr. Kiran
1981	Tholi Kodi Koosindi	Venkata Swamy	Telugu
	Enga Ooru Kannagi		Tamil
	Dhanya		Malayalam
	47 Natkal	Dr Shankar	Tamil
	47 Rojulu		Telugu
	Agni Poolu
	Ammayi Manasu
	Jeevitha Ratham	Mohan
	Netrikkann	Yuvaraj	Tamil
	Arumbugal
	Radha Kalyanam	Dr Anand	Telugu
	Prema Natakam	Rajasekharam
	Keezh Vaanam Sivakkum	Srivathsan	Tamil
	Bala Nagamma
	Dhanya		Malayalam
	Seetakoka Chiluka	David	Telugu
	Devi Dharisanam		Tamil
1982	Aval Etriya Deepam
	Kanavugal Karpanaigal
	Theerpu
	Pelleedu Pillalu		Telugu
	Yamakinkarudu	Kishore
	Azhagiya Kanne		Tamil
	Eera Vizhi Kaaviyangal
	Bala Nagamma		Telugu
	Metti		Tamil
	Mettela Savvadi		Telugu
	Pannai Purathu Pandavargal		Tamil
1983	Sagara Sangamam	Raghu	Telugu
	Imaigal		Tamil
	Amarajeevi		Telugu
	Muddula Mogudu		Telugu
	Sattam	Ravi	Tamil
	Villiyanur Matha
	Sitaara	Zamindar	Telugu
	Puli Debba	Manohar
	Kaliyuga Daivam
	Gaaju Bommalu
	Sandhippu		Tamil
	Benkiyalli Aralida Hoovu	Kavitha's boss	Kannada
	Makkale Devaru	Ramu
1984	Velai Pura Ondru		Tamil
	Kanchana Ganga	Jayasimha	Telugu
	Kondaveeti Nagulu	D.S.P. Narayana Rao
	Anbulla Malare		Tamil
	Chiranjeevi
	Unnai Naan Santhithen
	Azhagu
	Ninaivugal
	Naan Paadum Paadal
	Ezhuthatha Sattangal
	Mudivalla Arambam	Dr. Ram
	Swati	Satyam	Telugu
	Agni Gundam
1985	Anveshana	James
	Pagal Nilavu	Robert Manohar	Tamil
	Siksha	George Prasad	Telugu
	Musugu Donga	Kiran
	Anuraga Bandham
	Vishakanya	Vijayasimha
	Visha Kanni		Tamil
	Thulasidala	Ravi	Kannada
	Ooriki Soggadu	Ravi	Telugu
1986	Usha		Kannada
	Jeevana Poratam		Telugu
	Swati Mutyam	Chalapati
	Muddula Manavaraalu
	Manakanakku		Tamil
	Dharma Devathai
	Kannukku Mai Ezhuthu
	Khaidi Rani		Telugu
	Ukku Manishi	Salim
	Kashmora	Sridhar
1987	Velaikaran	Rajkumar	Tamil
	Shankar Guru	Devi's father
	Chinnari Devatha		Telugu
	Chellakutti		Tamil
	Ida Prapancham		Telugu
	Gautami
	Chaitanya Ratham
	Viswanatha Nayakudu	Thimmappa
	Sankeertana	Sravan Babu
	Gandhinagar Rendava Veedhi	Ravi
	Dabbevariki Chedu	Govardhanam
	Samsaram Oka Chadarangam	Prakash
	Michael Raj		Tamil
1988	Shakthi	ACP Bharath Kumar	Kannada
	Kampana
	Jeevana Jyothi	Sridhar	Telugu
	Aatma Katha
	Dorakani Donga	Tiger Raja
	Adhu Antha Kaalam		Tamil
	Aanimuthyam	Ravi Chandra	Telugu
	Abhinandana	Kamala's husband
	Daisy		Malayalam
	Chattamtho Chadarangam	Suryam and Nagabhushanam	Telugu
	Neerajanam
	Prana Snehitulu
	Kanchana Seeta
	August 15 Rathri
	Rendum Rendum Anju	Balu	Tamil
	Anna Chellelu	Dr. Rajasekhar	Telugu
	Manasukkul Mathappu	Dr. Raja	Tamil
	O Bharya Katha	Subhash	Telugu
1989	Chettu Kinda Pleader	Gopala Krishna
	Raktha Kanneeru	Rajasekharam
	Swathi Chinukulu
	Yamapasam
	Thendral Sudum		Tamil
	Thendral Puyalanadhu
	Paape Maa Pranam	Richards	Telugu
	Vijay	Giridhar
	Andru Peytha Mazhaiyil	Rajesh	Tamil
1990	Kokila	Police Officer	Telugu
	Neti Siddhartha	David
	Aggiramudu	Ram Mohan
	Raktha Jwala
	Mrugathrushna
	Four First Nights		Malayalam
	Sandhana Kaatru	Dr Sarath	Tamil
1991	Manjeera Nadam		Telugu
	Keechu Raallu
	Malaichaaral		Tamil
	Palleturi Pellam		Telugu
	Ranachandi		Kannada
1992	Naangal	Rajasekhar	Tamil
	Annamalai	Ashok
	Soori		Kannada
	Aapad Bandhavudu	Sripathi	Telugu
	Sabarimalayil Thanka Sooryodayam		Malayalam
	Naalaiya Theerpu	Priya's brother	Tamil
1993	Vedan	Ganesh
	Manikantana Mahime		Kannada
	Puthiya Thendral		Tamil
	Nakshatra Poratam		Telugu
	Rojavai Killathe	Sathasivam	Tamil
	Sivarathiri
	Kanyakumariyil Oru Kavitha		Malayalam
1994	Captain	Ramasamy	Tamil / Telugu
	Uzhiyan	Anakkal Raj	Tamil
	Hello Brother	Chakravarthy	Telugu
	Duet	Paramaguru	Tamil
	Makkala Sakshi		Kannada
	Criminal	Dr Pratap	Telugu
	Teerpu	ACP Madhu
1995	Muthu	Prince	Tamil
	Puthiya Aatchi	Vivekanandan
	Chandralekha	Shankar
	Desa Drohulu		Telugu
	Pokiri Raja	Dual Role
	Muddayi Muddugumma	Raja
	Kolangal	Shankar	Tamil
	Sisindri	Sarah Kumar	Telugu
1996	Mahaprabhu	Eswari Pandian	Tamil
	Vasantham
	Love Birds	Prakash
	Amrutha Varshini	Hemanth	Kannada
	Gaaya
	Akkada Ammayi Ikkada Abbayi	Vishnu Murthy	Telugu
1997	Dongaata
	Thodu
	Poonilamazha	Chandran	Malayalam
1998	Uyirodu Uyiraga	Chandrasekhar	Tamil
	Sandhippoma
	Gamyam	Anna	Telugu
	Pelli Pandiri	Inspector Rama Rao
1999	Janumadatha	Shri Chandra Vidyasagar	Kannada
	Nilave Mugam Kaattu	Police officer	Tamil
	Hrudaya Hrudaya		Kannada
2000	Annayya	Rangarao	Telugu
	Kadhal Rojavae	Sarath	Tamil
2001	Majnu		Kannada
	Neela	Palegar Jagadevaraya
	Daddy	Doctor	Telugu
	Aalavandhan	Tejaswini's father	Tamil
	Ishtam	Chakravarthy	Telugu
2002	Law and Order		Kannada
	Nuvvu Leka Nenu Lenu	Panduranga Rao	Telugu
	Baba		Tamil
	Devan
	Maaran	District Collector
2003	Anbu	Adithya's father
	Ninne Ishtapaddanu	Sanjana's father	Telugu
	Neeke Manasichaanu	Vivek's father
	Indru Mudhal	Geetha's father	Tamil
	Puthiya Geethai	Annamalai
	Ottran	Manikkavel IPS, IG, Prisons
2004	Arul	Doctor
	Shock	Dr. Rajan
	Gajendra	Azhagarsamy
	Kavithai
	Pedababu	Pedababu's step-father	Telugu
2005	Rendella Tharuvatha	Gandham
	Kannadi Pookal		Tamil
	O Priyathama	Nagaraj	Kannada
2006	Kalvanin Kadhali	Sathya's boss	Tamil
	Sri Ramadasu	Sage Bhadra	Telugu
	Evandoi Srivaru	Chandrasekhar
	Miss California	Prasad	Kannada
	Parijatham	Sumathi/Subhathra father	Tamil
	Perarasu	Chakkaravarthi Pandiyan
	Rocky The Rebel	Ajay Sinha: Rocky's father	Hindi
	Student		Kannada
	Rakhi	Police Commissioner	Telugu
2007	Aata	Srikrishna's father
	Shankar Dada Zindabad	Suresh's father
	Chandrahas	Chatrapati
	Waking Dreams	Dr Kumar	English
2008	Velli Thirai	Balaji	Tamil
	Uliyin Osai	Raja Raja Cholan
	Souryam	Police Commissioner	Telugu
	Payana	Kaveri's father	Kannada
	Neenyare
	Haage Summane
2009	Namyajamanru	Dr. Patil
	Neramu Siksha		Telugu
	Magadheera	Maharaj Vikram Singh
	Kannukulle	Joseph Aruldoss	Tamil
	Adada Enna Azhagu	Vaikam
	Malayn	Meiyappan aka Annachi
2010	Nagavalli	Shankar Rao	Telugu
2011	Ilaignan	Deivanayagam	Tamil
	It's My Love Story	Vandana's father	Telugu
2012	AK 56		Kannada
	Dhoni	Chief Minister	Tamil / Telugu
	Shirdi Sai	Mahalsapati	Telugu
2013	Ramanujan	Diwan Bahadur R Ramachandra Rao ICS	English / Tamil
	Masani	Village head	Tamil
	Brindavana		Kannada
	Backbench Student	Karthik's Father	Telugu
2014	Aryan		Kannada
2017	Si3	K. C. D. P. Sathyanarayana Reddygaru	Tamil
2018	Nela Ticket	Ananda Bhupathi	Telugu
	Next Enti?	Prakash
	Prashna Parihaara Shaala		Malayalam
2020	Entha Manchivaadavuraa	Siva Prasad	Telugu
2021	Vakeel Saab	Discipline Committee Chairman
2023	Vasantha Mullai	Doctor	Tamil
	Malli Pelli	Narendra's stepfather	Telugu
	Por Thozhil	Kennedy Sebastian	Tamil

Dubbing artist

List of Sarath Babu dubbing credits

Year	Title	Actor	Notes
1981	Nandu	Suresh

Television

List of Sarath Babu television credits

Year	Title	Role	Network	Language
1987	Silandhi vallai		Doordarshan	Tamil
1988	Narendhiranin vinodha vazhakku
1991	Penn
1989	Ivala En Manaivi		Doordarshan
1997–2001	Antharangalu		ETV	Telugu
1997	Ethanai Manidhargal		Doordarshan	Tamil
2000–2002	Gopuram	Vasanthan / Jayanthan	Sun TV
2000–2001	Janani		ETV	Telugu
2001–2002	Preetigagi			Kannada
2003–2004	Rekkai Kattiya Manasu		Raj TV	Tamil
2005–2006	Agnigundalu		ETV	Telugu
2013	Rajakumari		Sun TV	Tamil
2014	Mannan Magal		Jaya TV

Awards

Nandi Awards

• Best Supporting Actor – Seethakoka Chilaka (1981)
• Best Supporting Actor – O Bharya Katha (1988)
• Best Supporting Actor – Neerajanam (1989)

Other Awards

• Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Character Artiste (Male) for the film Malayan (2009).

External links

• Template:PAGENAMEBASE at IMDbTemplate:EditAtWikidata