Pudipeddi Ayyappa Sharma (born 22 January 1969), known professionally as Ayyappa P. Sharma, is an Indian actor, director and voice actor who primarily works in Telugu and Kannada films. Sharma made directorial debut with the Kannada film Aayudha (1996) and later gained critical acclaim for the Telugu film Eshwar Alla (1998) which won him a Nandi Award.
He expanded to lead acting with Gharshane (2014) and has since appeared in supporting roles in (2018), Akhanda (2021), Bimbisara (2022), Shivam Bhaje (2024) and Kingdom (2025).
Ayyappa P. Sharma was born into a family with a film background in Madras (now Chennai), Tamil Nadu. He is the younger son of renowned Telugu actors P. J. Sarma and Krishna Jyothi. He has two elder brothers, P. Sai Kumar and P. Ravi Shankar, both of whom are prominent actors. He also has two sisters â Priya and Kamala.
Sharma began his career as a director with the Kannada film Aayudha (1996). Subsequently, his debut Telugu film Eshwar Alla (1998) gained critical acclaim and won the Nandi Award for a Film on National Integration. He also served as the producer of the film. Kannada film Varadhanayaka (2013) was his major successful film at the box-office received the award. He became a full-fledged actor, playing the lead role in the Kannada film Gharshane (2014). Since then, he has been active as an actor and dubbing artist. He received critical acclaim for his role as Vanaram in the Kannada film (2018). His performance as Ketu in the Telugu film Bimbisara (2022) was also appreciated.