[2] Born on September 24, 1921, to Sankarayya and Ratnamma of Dachepalli village in Palnadu taluk of Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, he dropped out of school after Class.
Mr. Gayudu wasn't ready to accept the deal but for the sake of his friend Vali, he dropped out of the movie stating, his student Dhulipala, is capable enough to play Duryodhana.
When NTR thanked him for dropping out of the movie, Mr.Gayudu replied showing him all the letters and telegrams that he received earlier, "I am backing off for the sake of my friend Vali.
Mr. Gayudu was the first choice for every lead role in mythological movies but his family members didn't want him to enter the film industry as they feared for his well-being after his uncle, the great actor Dommeti Surya Narayana was assassinated by his rivals, as he was the first generation superstar of Telugu film industry and was still thriving.
He was a staunch devotee of Hanuman and was inspired by Swami Jayendra Saraswati of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham to take sanyas in 2001 and establish Maruthi Ashram at Guntur City.