Mahat Raghavendra (real name: Raghavendra) is an Indian actor born on 18 February 1987 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. His parents are chemical engineer Garimella Venkata Suryanarayana Sastry and homemaker Umadevi Garimella. He has a sister named Renu Madhavapeddi. He studied at Zion Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Kodaikanal, and graduated from Hindustan College of Arts and Science, Padur, Tamil Nadu. He is a childhood friend of actor Silambarasan, who gave him his first film role. He began his career as a background artiste in Vallavan (2006) and Kaalai (2008). His breakthrough came with Venkat Prabhu's Mankatha (2011), in which producer Dhayanidhi Alagiri (a childhood friend) cast him as a Dharavi bar owner; the film became a critical and commercial hit. He won the Edison Award for Best Debut Actor (2012) for this role. Subsequent films include Biriyani (2013), Jilla (2014), Vadacurry (2014), Ladies & Gentlemen (2015), Chennai 600028 II (2016), Run (2016), and Vantha Rajavathaan Varuven (2019). He married model and former Femina Miss India Earth 2012 Prachi Mishra on 1 February 2020; their son Adiyaman Raghavendra was born on 7 June 2021. In 2018, he was ejected from Bigg Boss Tamil Season 2 in Week 10 (Day 70) after physically assaulting co-housemates Daniel Annie Pope and Riythvika during a luxury budget task, finishing 10th.
Tamil film Mankatha (2011, Venkat Prabhu) as Mahat - a Dharavi bar owner alongside Ajith Kumar; Jilla (2014, alongside Vijay and Mohanlal); Biriyani (2013, Karthi); Chennai 600028 II (2016); Edison Award for Best Debut Actor 2012; ejected from Bigg Boss Tamil Season 2 (2018, Day 70) for physically assaulting housemates.
