Teja (director)

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Teja
Teja.blue.green.JPG
Teja at a shoot in the Maldives in 2011
Born
Jasti Dharma Teja [1]

(1966-02-22) 22 February 1966 (age 58)
Occupations
Years active1985–present
Notable workChitram, Jayam, Nuvvu Nenu, Nene Raju Nene Mantri
SpouseSrivalli
ChildrenAmitov Teja, Aila Teja, Aurov Teja [Deceased]

Teja (born Jasti Dharma Teja; 22 February 1966) is an Indian cinematographer turned director and screenwriter, known for his work primarily in Telugu cinema. [2] [3] He ventured into direction with hits such as Chitram , Nuvvu Nenu , and Jayam . [2] [3] He has garnered several state Nandi Awards, and Filmfare Award for Best Director – Telugu for Nuvvu Nenu . [4]

Contents

Teja debuted as cinematographer with Ram Gopal Varma's 1992 bilingual film Raat , for which he won Nandi Award for Best Cinematography. [5] As a cinematographer, He is known for his works in films such as Baazi, Ghulam , Sangharsh , Jis Desh Mein Ganga Rehta Hain , Krodh , Krishna , Shastra , Rakshak , Money , Tere Mere Sapne , and Vishwavidhaata . [6] [7] [8] [9] Teja also worked as a crew member in films such as Kshana Kshanam , Rangeela , Drohi , Antham , Gaayam , and Govinda Govinda . [10]

Early life

Teja was born on 22 February 1966 in Madras (now Chennai) of Tamil Nadu in an affluent family. [11] His father J.B.K. Chowdhary was an industrialist and exporter, based primarily in Tokyo, Japan. Chowdhary suffered heavy losses in his business which forced Teja to start working at an early age. [12]

Teja identifies himself as anti-caste, anti-religion, and anti-region. He has legally dropped his surname for the same reason. [1]

Career

Teja in 1998, shooting for Bollywood film, Ghulam Teja.photographer.jpg
Teja in 1998, shooting for Bollywood film, Ghulam

Teja doing any work he could get, ended up working in Tamil film shoots as a lighting assistant.[ citation needed ] After working in lighting and sound departments he moved into the camera department and worked under Ravikant Nagaich, and W.B. Rao. He then took up assignments for documentaries presented in National Geographic Channel. [13] He then joined the bandwagon of Bollywood. [14]

Working as cinematographer, Teja used to frequently schedule Hindi film shoots in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh as to spend more time with his wife and son. Many schedules were planned in Ramoji Film City. Chitram , Teja's directorial debut was planned entirely in Ramoji Film City on budget of forty lakh rupees. The film became a huge hit and paved way for a variety of new age romantic films in Tollywood. [15] Teja gained notability post the release of Nuvvu Nenu , [16] an all-time blockbuster and that year's highest grosser. [17] The film received six Nandi Awards and had a total run of three seventy five days. [18] The film was also remade in Hindi starring Tushar Kapoor and Anita Hassanandani. [19] [20] [21]

Teja's next film was Nijam , was released in 2003 starring Mahesh Babu and Rakshitha in lead roles. Nijam was a low grosser at the box office but gained critical appraise. In the following year, Teja made Jai . [22] Actor Navdeep debuted with the film, he was paired with Santhoshini and Ayesha Jhulka. The film had an average run.

Teja later directed Dhairyam and Avunanna Kaadanna , simultaneously. Halfway through Dhairyam's shoot, Teja dropped the project stating that the producer, N. Sudhakar Reddy, Nithiin's father, had changed and edited a part of the film without his consent. Teja returned his remuneration, arranged a press meet, and declared that he had nothing to do with the film. Dhairyam failed at the box office, whereas Avunanna Kadanna had a seventy-five-day run and was declared a hit. [23] [24]

Film distribution

Teja also set up Chitram movies distribution offices in Hyderabad and Vizag. He distributed films such as Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix , Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire , Spider-Man 2 , Spider-Man 3 , Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End , Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest , The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift and many others in Nizam and other districts. [25]

Personal life

Aurov Teja, Teja's younger son, died of prolonged illness in Hyderabad on Saturday, 19 March 2011. [26] Aurov had been suffering from breathing problems and cerebral palsy, caused by faulty medical procedures followed by the hospital at the time of birth. The baby was taken to Beijing, China, New York, United States and Berlin, Germany for medical treatment. On the morning of 19 March 2011, the baby's condition deteriorated and was pronounced dead at 12:11 local time. [27] [28] [29]

Filmography

As a writer, director or producer

YearFilmDirectorStoryScreenplayDialoguesProducerRef.
2000 Chitram YesYesYesYes
2001 Family Circus YesYesYesYes
Nuvvu Nenu YesYesYesYes
2002 Pitaah (Hindi)YesYesYes
Jayam YesYesYesYesYes
2003 Yeh Dil (Hindi)YesYesYesYes
Nijam YesYesYesYesYes
Sambaram YesYesYesYes
2004 Jai YesYesYesYesYes
2005 Dhairyam YesYesYes
Avunanna Kaadanna YesYesYesYes
2006 Oka `V` Chitram YesYesYesYes [30]
2007 Lakshmi Kalyanam YesYesYesYes
2008 Keka YesYesYesYesYes
2012 Neeku Naaku Dash Dash YesYesYesYes
2013 Veyyi Abaddalu YesYesYesYes
2015 Hora Hori YesYesYesYes
2017 Nene Raju Nene Mantri YesYesYes
2019 Sita YesYesYes
2023 Ahimsa YesYesYes

As a cinematographer

YearFilmLanguageNotesRef.
1992 Raat HindiDebut as cinematographer
Raatri Telugu
Antham Telugu
Drohi Hindi
1993 Money Telugu
Rakshana Telugu
1994TheerpuTelugu [31]
1995The DonHindi
Baazi Hindi
1996 Rakshak Hindi
Tere Mere Sapne Hindi
1997 Vishwavidhaata Hindi
1998 Ghulam Hindi
1999 Sangharsh Hindi
2000 Jis Desh Mein Ganga Rehta Hain Hindi

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References

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  2. 1 2 "Hero Prince indebted to director Teja - BeyondTollywood - News, Reviews, Gallerys, Wallpapers, Trailers, Videos, Lyrics". 3 September 2013. Archived from the original on 3 September 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. 1 2 "RK's Open Heart with director Teja". 10 May 2012. Archived from the original on 10 May 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  4. 25CineFrames (30 July 2013). "Director Teja Approached Nagma For His Next Film". 25CineFrames.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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  7. "Director Teja offers a role to Nagma". ApNewsCorNer.Com. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
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  10. "Director Teja Speaks About His Movie 1000 Abaddalu Telugufilmnagar " - Telugu Video News". DegaView.com. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  11. Kala, Surya (22 February 2021). "Happy Birthday Director Teja : చిత్రం, నువ్వునేను, జయం వంటి సినిమాలతో ట్రెండ్ సెట్ చేసిన దర్శకుడు తేజ పుట్టిన రోజు నేడు". TV9 Telugu (in Telugu). Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  12. Vattikuti, Chakravarthy. "నాలుగంతస్తుల నుంచి నడిరోడ్డు మీదకు..." Eenadu . Archived from the original on 30 October 2017.
  13. "Down — but not out". The Hindu.
  14. "Saavn - Hindi Songs Free Download, Old, Latest, New, mp3, Bollywood Music, Online". Smashits.com. Archived from the original on 26 June 2014. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
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  22. "Teja Love Flick Movie - Teja New Movie - Sri Productions New Movie - Teja New Movie Selections - Teja New Movie Artistes Selections - TeluguMirchi.com". Telugu Film News - Telugu Movie Ratings - Telugu Film Reviews - Telugu Movie News - Telugu Movie reviews - Tollywood Latest News.
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  31. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine : "Theerpu Full Movie | ANR, Jagapati Babu, Aamani | Uppalapati Narayana Rao | M M Keeravani". YouTube .