Shanmukh Jaswanth
FinalistShanmukh Jaswanth
Bio
Shanmukh Jaswanth Kandregula is an Indian YouTuber, actor, and dancer born on 16 September 1994 in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. His father is Apparao Kandregula and his mother is Umarani Kandregula. He has a brother, Sampath Vinay (an entrepreneur and co-director of YouTube projects). He initially enrolled at Amrita School of Engineering, Bengaluru in 2013, but transferred to Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management (GITAM) in Visakhapatnam, where he earned a Bachelor of Business Administration. He launched his YouTube channel on 2 July 2012, initially uploading dance covers of popular Telugu songs including 'You and Me' from Khaidi No 150 (2017), which attracted wide attention. Without any formal dance training, he taught himself through YouTube videos. He collaborated extensively with the Viva YouTube channel - a popular hub for Telugu youth comedy and entertainment - appearing in viral videos including The Viva (2013) and The Interview. His film debut came with Nannu Dochukunduvate (2018, directed by R.S. Naidu). His breakthrough was The Software DevLOVEper (2020), a 10-episode YouTube comedy series directed by K. Subbu in which he played 'Shannu' - a naive software engineer in love - which crossed 25 million views and won him the Best Performer Male Award at the Padmamohana YouTube Awards (2020). He followed up with the web series Surya (2021) and Student (2022-23). He had a supporting role in the blockbuster Pushpa: The Rise (2021). In September 2021, he entered Bigg Boss Telugu Season 5 hosted by Nagarjuna, emerging as one of the season's most strategic and visible players. He finished as first runner-up on 19 December 2021. He got engaged to Vaishnavi Chodisetti in February 2026.
His YouTube channel with 4.9+ million subscribers; his lead role as 'Shannu' in the Telugu YouTube web series The Software DevLOVEper (2020), which became a massive digital hit; his collaboration with the Viva YouTube channel; his acting debut in the Telugu film Nannu Dochukunduvate (2018); winning the Best Performer Male Award at the 10th Padmamohana YouTube Awards (2020); finishing as first runner-up of Bigg Boss Telugu Season 5 (2021).