Koduri Viswa Vijayendra Prasad (born 27 May 1942) is an Indian screenwriter and film director who predominantly works in Telugu cinema.[3] With a career spanning across nearly three decades, his filmography consists of over 25 films as a screenwriter.[4] He is considered to be one of the most successful film writers in India and only screenwriter who has had a hand in several of the biggest films of Indian cinema.[5][6] He has frequently collaborated with his son, director S. S. Rajamouli, to deliver some of the highest-grossing Indian films of all time.
Prasad's family had lands in Kovvur which were lost when the railway lines went through most of them.[14] Then, Prasad moved to Karnataka from Kovvur in 1968. He, along with his elder brother K. V. Sivashankar, bought seven acres of paddy fields in Hirekotikal village of Manvi Taluk in Raichur district. Their family moved back to Kovvur in 1977.[15] He also ventured into various businesses which ended up as losses.[4]
Career
His brother Siva Shakthi Datta's passion for films made Vijayendra Prasad and his family to shift to Madras. Datta assisted a couple of directors for some time and started a film titled Pillanagrovi which was stopped midway due to financial reasons. As his brother was already in the film industry, Prasad started assisting his brother.[4]
Prasad got introduced to K. Raghavendra Rao through Samatha Arts' Mukherjee who was a friend of his. Raghavendra Rao started giving he and Datta small assignments. They got their first break with Janaki Ramudu (1988) which became successful at the box office.[4][16]
Prasad dropped ‘K’ from his name, K. V. Vijayendra Prasad as he felt it was an indicator of his caste.[21][19] He cited Hindu epics Mahabharata and Ramayana as a source of his inspiration.[22] He cites 1957 Telugu film Mayabazar, as his all time favourite film.[23] He also cited the screenwriting duo Salim–Javed (Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar) as a major inspiration on his work, especially their screenplay for Sholay (1975), among other films.[24] On 6 July 2022, Indian government nominated Prasad to the Rajya Sabha.[13]
Filmography
Key
†
Denotes film or TV productions that have not yet been released
↑ "Why did Katappa Kill Baahubali?". The Indian Express. 18 March 2018. Retrieved 8 July 2022. Very early in his career, he dropped 'K' from his name, KV Vijayendra Prasad, because "it was an indicator of my caste". "The caste system is at the root of most problems our country faces. I want it eradicated but it's not enough to preach without practising it."
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