Puja Kolluru | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Puja Aparna Kolluru 11 November [1] |
| Education | Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film |
| Alma mater | Ringling College of Art and Design |
| Occupation(s) | Filmmaker, Screenwriter, Educator |
| Notable work | Martin Luther King Reflection A Woman Who Climbs Trees |
Puja Kolluru is a filmmaker from the Telugu film industry. She has garnered attention for her directorial debut, Martin Luther King a 2023 Indian Telugu-language political satire film, a remake of Mandela .
Puja grew up in Vijayawada [2] [3] and after Class X, wanted to become a physicist. She enrolled in an International Baccalaureate programme at UWC Mahindra College. [2] Along with physics she studied films as well for 2 years, before pursuing her passion for filmmaking by earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, majoring in Film with a specialization in Screenwriting and Directing, from Ringling College of Art and Design in Florida, USA. [2]
Puja Kolluru's directorial journey began with her thesis film, Reflection, which earned her accolades, winning both Best Film and Best Director Awards at the Ringling film festival. [4]
She shot her first feature documentary, A Woman Who Climbs Trees, [5] centered around the life of Dr. Meg Lowman, a renowned National Geographic Scientist in the Amazon rainforests in Peru as a one-woman production team. [6] The documentary received the Special Jury Award at the Dada Saheb Phalke Film Festival in 2020. The documentary was also officially selected at the Sarasota Film Festival, USA.
Puja is actively involved in the academics, mentoring and teaching as a guest faculty in screenwriting and production at Annapurna College of Film and Media. She is also a co-founder of Write Right Club, contributing to the literary and creative landscape. Moreover, Puja has served as a visiting professor at Annapurna College of Film and Media and as a documentary filmmaker at TREE Foundation.
In addition to her work as a director, Kolluru has proven her skills in screenwriting, contributing to the screenplay and dialogue of the Telugu adaptation of the Tamil film Mandela (2021), titled Martin Luther King (2023). [7] The film was later released on SonyLIV on November 29, 2023. [8]
| Year | Title | Language | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Reflection | English | short |
| 2018 | A Woman Who Climbs Trees | documentary | |
| 2023 | Martin Luther King | Telugu | Also editor [9] [10] |
Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao, often referred to by his initials NTR, was an Indian actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter, film editor and politician who served as a former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh for seven years over three terms. He is regarded as one of the most influential actors of Indian cinema. He starred in over 300 films, predominantly in Telugu cinema, and was referred to as "Viswa Vikhyatha Nata Sarvabhouma". Rao received three National Film Awards for co-producing Thodu Dongalu (1954) and Seetharama Kalyanam (1960) under National Art Theater, Madras, and for directing Varakatnam (1970). In 1968, The Government of India honoured him with Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian award, for his contributions to Indian cinema. In 2013, NTR was voted as "Greatest Indian Actor of All Time" in a CNN-IBN national poll conducted on the occasion of the Centenary of Indian Cinema.
Akkineni Nageswara Rao, widely known as ANR, was an Indian actor and film producer, known for his work majorly in Telugu cinema. He starred in many landmark films in his seventy five-year career, and became one of the most prominent figures of Telugu cinema. Akkineni received seven state Nandi Awards, five Filmfare Awards South and a Tamil Nadu State Film Award. The highest honour in Indian cinema, Dada Saheb Phalke Award, was given to him at the 38th National Film Awards (1990). He was Honoured with Padma Vibhushan (2011), Padma Bhushan (1988) and Padma Shri (1968), India's second, third and fourth highest civilian awards, for his contributions to the fields of art and cinema.
Nora Ephron was an American journalist, writer, and filmmaker. She is best known for writing and directing romantic comedy films and received numerous accolades including a British Academy Film Award as well as nominations for three Academy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, a Tony Award and three Writers Guild of America Awards.
Jaya Prada Nahata is an Indian actress and politician known for her works majorly in Telugu cinema in addition to Hindi and Tamil films in late '70s, '80s and early '90s. Jayaprada is the recipient of three Filmfare Awards South and has starred in many Telugu and Hindi films along with several Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam, Bengali and Marathi films. She left the film industry at the peak of her career, as she joined the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in 1994 and entered politics. She was a Member of Parliament (MP) from Rampur, Uttar Pradesh from 2004 to 2014.
Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Telugu language, widely spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Telugu cinema is based in Film Nagar, Hyderabad. As of 2021, Telugu cinema is the largest film industry in India in terms of box-office. Telugu films sold 23.3 crore tickets in 2022, the highest among various film industries in India.
Vijayalakshmi Yeedi, known professionally as Rambha, is an Indian former actress. She was one of the prominent actresses in Indian cinema in the 1990s and early 2000s. In a career spanning almost two decades, Rambha had appeared in more than 100 films across eight languages, predominantly in Telugu and Tamil, in addition to Hindi, Kannada, and Malayalam, along with a few Bengali, Bhojpuri and English films.
Margaret D. Lowman, Ph.D. a.k.a. Canopy Meg is an American biologist, educator, ecologist, writer, explorer, and public speaker. Her expertise involves canopy ecology, canopy plant-insect relationships, and constructing canopy walkways.
Kanaka Durga Temple, officially known as Sri Durga Malleswara Swamyvarla Devasthanam, is a Hindu temple dedicated to Kanaka Durga. The deity in this temple is also popularly referred as Kanaka Durga. The temple is located in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, India on the Indrakeeladri hill on the banks of Krishna River. Kaalika Purana, Durgaa Sapthashati and other Vedic literature have mentioned about Kanaka Durga on the Indrakeelaadri and have described the deity as Swayambhu, (self-manifested) in Triteeya Kalpa.
The Virginia Film Festival is a program of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. The film festival is held annually, usually in late October or early November.
Jandhyala Subrahmanya Sastry, known mononymously by his surname Jandhyala, was an Indian film director, screenwriter, playwright, and actor known for his works in Telugu cinema and Telugu theatre. He is popularly known as Hasya Brahma. In a career spanning more than two decades, he directed over 40 films and wrote the dialogue for more than 300 films. He won three state Nandi Awards one each for Best Director, Best Story Writer, and Best Dialogue Writer and one Filmfare Award for Best Director – Telugu. The Hindu referred to him as the 'King of Comedy in Tollywood'.
Jamuna was an Indian actress, director, and politician who appeared mainly in Telugu cinema. She made her acting debut at age 16 in Dr. Garikapati Rajarao's Puttillu (1953), and received her breakthrough with L. V. Prasad'sMissamma (1955). Her filmography also includes Tamil, Kannada, and Hindi films. She won a Filmfare Award and an award at Filmfare Awards South. She was a member of parliament in the 9th Lok Sabha (1989–1991) representing the Rajahmundry constituency.
Garikapati Varalakshmi was an Indian actress, stage artist, singer, and director who worked in Telugu and Tamil films.
Annapurna, also credited as Annapurnamma, is an Indian actress who appears primarily in Telugu films. She is known for her portrayal as mother, mother-in-law, grand mother, aunt, etc. She started her film career as an actor alongside Mohan Babu in the blockbuster Telugu film Swargam Narakam directed by Dasari Narayana Rao in 1975. She appeared in over 900 films and won three Nandi Awards.
Annapurna, Annapurneshwari, Annada or Annapoorna is a manifestation of Parvati and is known as the Hindu goddess of food and nourishment. Worship and offering of food are highly praised in Hinduism, and therefore, the goddess Annapurna is regarded as a popular deity. She is a manifestation of the goddess Parvati, the consort of Shiva, and is eulogized in the Annada Mangal, a narrative poem in Bengali by Bharatchandra Ray. The Annapurna Sahasranam is dedicated to the goddess and praises her one thousand names, while the Annapurna Shatanama Stotram is dedicated to her 108 names.
Draupadi Vastrapaharanam is a 1936 Indian Telugu-language film directed by H. V. Babu, brother-in-law of noted filmmaker H. M. Reddy. It was made to compete with Draupadi Manasamrakshanam (1936). This film was Super Hit, whereas Draupadi Manasamrakshanam failed. The film is remembered for the rendition of poems with acting performances by C. S. R. Anjaneyulu and Yadavalli Suryanarayana.
Siva is a 1989 Indian Telugu-language crime action film directed by Ram Gopal Varma and produced by Akkineni Venkat and Yarlagadda Surendra under Annapurna Studios and SS Creations. The film, which marks the directorial debut of Ram Gopal Varma, explores the concepts of student exploitation by anti-social elements and the impact of crowd psychology.
Dawn Porter is an American documentary filmmaker and founder of production company Trilogy Films. Her documentaries have screened at The Sundance Film Festival and other festivals as well as on HBO, CNN, Netflix, Hulu, PBS and elsewhere. She has made biographical documentaries about a number of historical figures including Bobby Kennedy, Vernon Jordan, and John Lewis and has collaborated with Oprah and Prince Harry.
Venkatesh Maha is an Indian film director, screenwriter and actor who works in Telugu cinema. He's known for directing films such as C/o Kancharapalem (2018) and Uma Maheswara Ugra Roopasya (2020).
Mandela is a 2021 Indian Tamil-language political satire television film written and directed by Madonne Ashwin on his directorial debut and produced by S. Sashikanth and Ramachandra of YNOT Studios while director Balaji Mohan, co-produced the film under his banner Open Window Productions. The film being titled after the late South African President Nelson Mandela, stars Yogi Babu in the titular lead role while Sheela Rajkumar, Kanna Ravi, Sangili Murugan and G. M. Sundar play supportive roles. The music for the film is composed by Bharath Sankar, whereas cinematography and editing were handled by Vidhu Ayyanna and Philomin Raj respectively.
Martin Luther King is a 2023 Indian Telugu-language political satire film directed by Puja Kolluru in her directorial debut. It was jointly produced by YNOT Studios, Reliance Entertainment, and Mahayana Motion Pictures. This film's story is a remake of the Tamil movie Mandela where Yogi Babu acted in a lead role. The film, titled after the prominent American civil rights movement leader Martin Luther King Jr, stars Sampoornesh Babu in the titular lead role while Naresh, Sharanya Pradeep and Venkatesh Maha play supportive roles.