Sekhar Kammula | |
---|---|
Born | [1] [2] Eluru, Andhra Pradesh, India | 4 February 1972
Alma mater | Chaitanya Bharathi Institute of Technology (B.Tech) Rutgers University (M.S) Howard University (M.F.A) |
Occupations |
|
Years active | 1999–present |
Spouse | Sri Vidya |
Awards | National Film Award |
Website | www |
Sekhar Kammula (born 4 February 1972) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer who works in Telugu cinema. [3] [4] He has garnered two Filmfare Awards South, and six state Nandi Awards for his directional works. [5] Sekhar Kammula was among the director's delegation to represent South Indian Cinema at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. [6]
A Master of Science and Master of Fine Arts holder from Rutgers University and Howard University respectively, Sekhar Kammula made his directorial debut with the independent film Dollar Dreams (2000), which won him the National Film Award for Best First film of a director. The film was also screened at the International Film Festival of India. [7] Kammula went onto direct critically and commercially successful Telugu films Anand (2004), Godavari (2006), Happy Days (2007), Leader (2010), Fidaa (2017), and Love Story (2021).
Sekhar Kammula was born in Eluru, Andhra Pradesh and brought up in Hyderabad, Telangana. [8] He graduated in Mechanical Engineering from Chaitanya Bharathi Institute of Technology, and completed his Masters M.S from Rutgers University in Computer Science in the U.S. He worked in the IT industry for about 3 years and then joined a film school and got his M.F.A (Film) degree at Howard University, Washington D.C. During this time he worked on a number of films (short and feature length) in the U.S. [9]
Kammula made his film directorial debut with the independent film Dollar Dreams (2000), shot in both Telugu and English which was a critical success, and won him the National Film Award for Best First film of a director. The film was screened at the International Film Festival of India. [7]
His second film, Anand (2004) was a commercial success and was among highest grossing Telugu films of that year. [10] His next film, Godavari , was praised by critics and was a commercial success.[ citation needed ]
In 2007, his directed Happy Days which depicted the regular college life of engineering students. The film was very successful, especially among the urban youth of then Andhra Pradesh. [11] The film was later remade in Tamil and Kannada languages. He then directed political film Leader which released in 2010 to positive reviews. Rediff.com noted that "If anything, the film is a wish-list of what one would like to see in the arena of politics, which Sekhar should be lauded for even trying." [12]
In 2012, Kammula written, produced and directed Life Is Beautiful, his first production venture. The film had a positive reception from critics and audience.[ citation needed ] Firstpost called the film a revamped version of Happy Days (2007) and noted similarities between the characters written by Kammula in both the films. [13] Later in 2014, he directed Anaamika, a Telugu remake of 2012 Hindi film Kahaani in which Nayantara played Vidya Balan's character.
In 2017, his romantic comedy film Fidaa , starring Varun Tej and Sai Pallavi, grossed over ₹90 crore worldwide at the box office. [14] In 2021, Kammula's Telugu film, Love Story, starring Naga Chaitanya and Sai Pallavi was released to mostly positive reviews. [15]
In 2024, film DNS, directed by Kammula, has started filming and features Tamil star Dhanush in the lead role. [16]
Sekhar Kammula’s films often focuses on the relationship between men and women in their routine life circumstances filled with both happiness and hardships. Sankeertana Varma of Film Companion calls film portrayal of his female characters as somewhat "special." She writes that they aren't particular "strong women" but they are real. Varma adds that though his female characters display their egos and throw tantrums, they are unbreakable and refuse to fit in the typical societal norms expected from a normal woman. [17] Kammula has also appreciated the work of other directors including the recent Telugu hit Vaarasudu . [18]
Year | Film | Language | Credited as | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Director | Writer | Producer | ||||
2000 | Dollar Dreams | Telugu English | Yes | Yes | Yes | Directorial debut |
2004 | Anand | Telugu | Yes | Yes | Yes | Also choreographer |
2006 | Godavari | Telugu | Yes | Yes | No | |
2007 | Happy Days | Telugu | Yes | Yes | Yes | Also choreographer |
2008 | Avakai Biryani | Telugu | No | No | Yes | |
2010 | Leader | Telugu | Yes | Yes | No | |
2012 | Life Is Beautiful | Telugu | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
2014 | Anaamika | Telugu Tamil | Yes | Screenplay | No | Released in Tamil as Nee Enge En Anbe |
2017 | Fidaa | Telugu | Yes | Yes | No | |
2021 | Love Story | Telugu | Yes | Yes | No | |
2024 | Kubera | Telugu | Yes | Yes | No | Post production [19] [20] |
Year | Awards | Category | Film | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1999 | National Film Awards | Best Debut Film of a Director | Dollar Dreams | Won |
2004 | Nandi Awards | Best Director | Anand | Won |
Second Best Film | Won | |||
2005 | Filmfare Awards South | Best Film | Nominated | |
Best Director | Nominated | |||
2006 | Nandi Awards | Best Director | Godavari | Won |
Second Best Film | Won | |||
2006 | Filmfare Awards South | Best Director | Nominated | |
2007 | Nandi Awards | Best Film - Silver | Happy Days | Won |
2008 | Filmfare Awards South | Best Film | Won | |
Best Director | Won | |||
2008 | CineMAA Awards | Best Film | Won | |
Best Director | Won | |||
Best Story | Won | |||
Best Screenplay | Won | |||
2009 | Nandi Awards | Best Story Writer | Leader | Won |
2010 | Filmfare Awards South | Best Film | Nominated | |
Best Director | Nominated | |||
2018 | Filmfare Awards South | Best Film | Fidaa | Nominated |
Best Director | Nominated | |||
2018 | Zee Cine Awards Telugu [23] | Best Director | Won | |
Anand is a 2004 Indian Telugu-language drama film written and directed Sekhar Kammula. Produced jointly by Amigos Creations and National Film Development Corporation of India, the film stars Raja and Kamalinee Mukherjee. The film begins with the death of the family of a young girl as a result of a character's drunken driving. The film sketches the path of the young girl growing up into a woman who lives her life independently and with self-esteem. How the male protagonist enters the woman's life and how they fall in love with each other forms the rest of the story.
Yarlagadda Sumanth Kumar, known mononymously as Sumanth, is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Telugu cinema. He is the eldest grandson of Telugu actor Akkineni Nageswara Rao. He is also a partner in Annapurna Studios.
Godavari is a 2006 Indian Telugu-language romantic comedy drama film written and directed by Sekhar Kammula, and produced by G. V. G. Raju. Sumanth and Kamalinee Mukherjee played the lead roles. The film was a commercial success at the box office in addition to receiving unanimous critical acclaim. It won several Nandi and Filmfare awards. The music of the film was composed by K. M. Radha Krishnan. There is a similarity in the names of the protagonists and the cruise boat on the river Godavari. This film was later dubbed in Hindi as Jheel Se Gehra Pyar. The film was an above average grosser in India but was successful in the US. Godavari is considered a modern day classic by some critics
The Filmfare Award for Best Director – Telugu is presented by the Filmfare magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards South for Telugu films. The awards were extended to "Best Director" in 1972.
Happy Days is a 2007 Indian Telugu-language musical coming of age film written, produced and directed by Sekhar Kammula. The film features Varun Sandesh, Tamannaah Bhatia, Rahul Haridas, Nikhil Siddharth, Vamsee Krishna, Sonia Deepti, Gayatri Rao, and Monali Chowdhary in the lead roles. The plot explores the college life and experiences of eight friends.
Jeedigunta Varun Sandesh is an Indian American actor known primarily for his works in Telugu cinema. He made his debut with Sekhar Kammula's coming-of-age blockbuster drama Happy Days (2007), and went on to star in films such as Kotha Bangaru Lokam (2008), Kurradu (2009), Yemaindi Ee Vela (2010), D for Dopidi (2013), Pandavulu Pandavulu Thummeda (2014), Mama Manchu Alludu Kanchu (2015), Michael (2023) and Nindha (2024). In 2019, Sandesh appeared in Telugu reality TV show Bigg Boss 3 as a contestant and finished as a finalist.
Mukunda is a 2014 Indian Telugu-language drama film written and directed by Srikanth Addala. The film was produced by Tagore Madhu and Nallamalapu Srinivas (Bujji) under the banner Leo Productions. It stars debutuant Varun Tej and Pooja Hegde in the lead roles with Prakash Raj, Rao Ramesh, and Nassar in supporting roles. Mickey J Meyer composed the film's soundtrack and background score. Marthand K. Venkatesh edited the film.
Vijay C. Kumar is an Indian cinematographer, who works in the Telugu cinema. Some of his notable films include Vivaha Bhojanambu (1988), Ammoru (1995), Aagraham (1991), Dollar Dreams (2000), Anand (2004) and Happy Days (2007). He won the Nandi Award for Best Cinematographer for the film Godavari (2006).
Kamal Kamaraju is an Indian actor and screenwriter known for his works in Telugu cinema and theatre.
Sonia Deepti is an Indian actress who has primarily appeared in Telugu films. Her debut performance as Shravs in the 2007, Sekhar Kammula film, Happy Days won her the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress – Telugu.
Richa Langella is an Indian American former actress and model who predominantly appeared in Telugu films. She presently resides at Portland, Oregon.
Life Is Beautiful is a 2012 Indian Telugu-language coming-of-age drama film written, produced and directed by Sekhar Kammula. The film features five debutante actors, Abijeet, Sudhakar Komakula, Kaushik Darbha, Shagun Kaur, and Zara Shah in lead roles with Shriya Saran, Anjala Zaveri and Amala Akkineni in key supporting roles. This film also features Vijay Deverakonda, Sree Vishnu & Naveen Polisetty. The film is produced by film maker Sekhar Kammula and Chandrasekhar Kammula under Amigos Creations banner. Soundtrack of the film was composed by Mickey J Meyer and the cinematography was handled by Vijay C. Kumar. The film received both mixed to positive reviews from critics and audiences with appreciation for the director's work.
Amigos Creations is an Indian film production company established by Sekhar Kammula in 1999. The company is based in Hyderabad. The first movie that was made under the banner was Dollar Dreams, which won the National Award for the Best Debut Film of a Producer/Director.
Abijeet Duddala is an Indian actor and television personality who works in Telugu cinema. He made his debut as a lead actor in the film Life Is Beautiful, directed by Sekhar Kammula in 2012. He starred in the web series Pelli Gola (2017–19) and Modern Love Hyderabad (2022). In 2020, Abijeet emerged as the winner of Star Maa’s reality TV show Bigg Boss 4.
Singireddy Naga Aswin commonly known as Nag Ashwin, is an Indian film director and screenwriter known for his work in Telugu cinema. He is the recipient of a National Film Award, a Nandi Award, and a Filmfare Award. A graduate of the New York Film Academy, Ashwin began his career as an assistant director to Sekhar Kammula. He made his directorial debut in 2015 with the coming-of-age film Yevade Subramanyam, which earned him the Nandi Award for Best Debut Director.
Tharun Bhascker Dhaassyam is an Indian film director, actor and screenwriter who works in Telugu cinema. He directed the romantic comedy Pelli Choopulu (2016), which won him the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu and Best Screenplay – Dialogues. He later directed Ee Nagaraniki Emaindhi (2018), and made his acting debut in a lead role with Meeku Maathrame Cheptha (2019).
Fidaa (transl. Spellbound) is a 2017 Indian Telugu-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Sekhar Kammula, and produced by Dil Raju under Sri Venkateswara Creations banner. The film stars Varun Tej and Sai Pallavi in the lead roles. The film marks Pallavi's debut in Tollywood. The plot follows a love–hate relationship between Bhanumathi (Pallavi), a strong-minded village girl, and her brother-in-law's brother Varun (Tej), an NRI from the US.
Anish Yohan Kuruvilla is an Indian actor and director who predominantly works in Telugu cinema. Before becoming a director, he was an executive producer with Sekhar Kammula, played the lead role in Dollar Dreams (2000), and played a supporting role in Anand (2004). After taking a break from acting for 12 years, he played a crucial role in the 2016 film Pelli Choopulu. He also appeared in the biographical film of Indian cricketer M. S. Dhoni.
Love Story is a 2021 Indian Telugu-language musical romantic-drama film written and directed by Sekhar Kammula. Produced by Amigos Creations and Sree Venkateswara Cinemas, the film stars Naga Chaitanya and Sai Pallavi while Rajeev Kanakala, Devayani, Easwari Rao and Uttej play supporting roles. The film tells the story of an inter-caste relationship between Mounika (Pallavi) and Revanth (Chaitanya) who meet in the city while pursuing their dreams.
Love Story is the soundtrack album composed by Pawan Ch for the 2021 Indian Telugu-language film of the same name featuring Naga Chaitanya and Sai Pallavi in lead roles, directed by Sekhar Kammula. The album consists of five songs with Suddala Ashok Teja, Bhaskarabhatla, Roll Rida, Chaithanya Pingali and Mittapalli Surender penning the lyrics. The soundtrack album was released on 22 September 2021 through Aditya Music label. Kartik Srinivasan of Film Companion added the song "Evo Evo Kalale" in his list of Top 10 Telugu songs of 2021.
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