Pradeep Shakthi was an Indian Telugu actor, director, and businessman who lived from July 25, 1954, to February 20, 2016.
Raja Vasireddy, the birth name of Pradeep Shakthi, was from the Andhra Pradesh district of Guntur. Director Vamsy introduced him to Telugu cinema with the 1985 film Aalaapana. He played negative roles in numerous Telugu and Tamil films. In 1990, he directed the politically charged film Kaliyuga Viswamithra (1989). In 1993, he immigrated to the United States and settled in Staten Island, New York, where he started a restaurant business full-time.