Pradeep Shakthi Biography 
Pradeep Shakthi was a film actor and director associated with Tamil cinema. He was a successful businessman too. He appeared in Telugu, Hindi and Tamil movies, mostly playing grey and negative shade roles. He was active in film industry since mid-1980s till his death in 2016, though he took a break between 1994 and 2008. He was introduced to big screen by Vamsi in 1985 through the movie, Aalaapana and he was fully active in film scene till 1994. He migrated to the US in 1993 and became a successful restaurateur. He returned after hiatus in 2008 and portrayed a few more character roles.
His real name is Raja Vasireddy. He hailed from Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh. Aalaapana in 1985 marked his film debut, and he appeared in Ladies Tailor, Lawyer Suhasini, Bazaar Rowdy, Janaki Ramudu, Aakhari Poratam, Raktha Tilakam, Two Town Rowdy, Donga Kollu, Marana Mrudangam, Indrudu Chandrudu, Chettu Kinda Pleader, Simha Swapnam, Prema etc in the 1980s. He marked his Tamil film debut with Naayagan in 1987 and since then he played numerous memorable character roles on screen. He played a brief role in 1988 Dharmendra movie, Khatron Ke Khiladi. He directed one film, Kaliyuga Vishwamitra in the late 1980s. He came into prominence playing negative roles and was fully active in the industry till he migrated to US.
A successful businessman, he owned Baba Hut restaurant on Newark Avenue in the Little India section of Jersey City. Now it’s closed. He also owned the Gongura restaurant in Edison. He died at New Jersey in 2016 where he was busy with his business. He was 61. Shakti acted and produced a short film while living in the United States. He was thinking to direct one full-length film. But due to his tight business schedule, he pushed the project further, and the movie never happened. Subramanyam for Sale (2015) was his last screen appearance.
Published: September 18, 2018
Updated: September 18, 2018
