Tadepalli Lakshmi Kanta Rao () (16 November 1923 – 22 March 2009), more popularly known as kathi Kanta Rao, was an Indian film actor and producer known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema. Regarded as one of the finest method actors, Rao starred in more than four hundred feature films 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.