Tadepalli Lakshmi Kantha Rao (16 November 1923 – 22 March 2009) was an Indian actor and producer known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema. Regarded as one of the finest method actors, Rao appeared in more than 400 feature films, starring in many, in a variety of genres including mythological, social and folklore. He has also acted in a few Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, and Malayalam movies. He has produced about five films under the Hyma Films banner. In the 1960s, he was one of the primary actors in Telugu cinema, along with N. T. Rama Rao and Akkineni Nageswara Rao. Kantha Rao was known for portraying the roles of Narada, Lord Krishna and Arjuna. He played Lakshmana in the blockbuster film Lava Kusa, for which he received Vishehsa Puraskaram in 1963.