Devadas Kanakala was an Indian film actor and director who worked predominantly in Telugu language movies and TV shows. Superstar Rajnikanth and Megastar Chiranjeevi have trained under him. Kanakala, who originally hailed from Andhra Pradesh is known most famously for his role in the movie "O Seeta Katha." He was the founder of the Film and Television Institute of Andhra Pradesh in Hyderabad which his wife Lakshmi Kanakala served as the principal of until her death in 2018. His son Rajiv Kanakala is also an actor in the Telugu film industry. As a director, Kanakala directed five films namely Chali Chimalu, Nijam, Nagamalli, O Intti Bagotham, PunyaBhoomi Kallu Terichinddi. Devadas Kanakala died aged 74 on 2nd August 2019 due to sepsis and multiple organ failure.