 Born at Suddala, a village in Nalgonda district to Janakamma and a well known Telugu poet, Suddala Hanmanthu, a poet of the Telangana Rebellion and Telangana Saayudha Porata Yodhudu.He has two brothers and a sister; Prabhakar Teja, Sudhakar Teja and Racha Bharathi.Ashok Teja worked as a Government teacher in Bandalingapur, Medipally and Metpally villages of Karimnagar district before coming into the Telugu film industry.