Venky Atluri

Venky Atluri
Born	Atluri Venkateswara Rao Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh (now in Telangana), India
Occupations	Actor Screenwriter Film director
Years active	2007–present
Spouse	Pooja Chowdary Nayidi ​ ​ (m. 2023)​ [1]

Atluri Venkateswara Rao, commonly known as Venky Atluri is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and actor who works predominantly in Telugu cinema and few Tamil films. He is known for directing Tholi Prema (2018), Sir / Vaathi (2023) and Lucky Baskhar (2024). ^{[2] [3] [4]} The lattermost is his highest grosser and has won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Film – Telugu.

Early life and career

Venky Atluri was named Atluri Venkateswara Rao after his grandfather and graduated in B. Tech. This resulted in him having a long stage name for his acting debut Gnapakam (2007) directing by Uppalapati Narayana Rao co-starring Vishakha Singh. ^[5] The film was a box office failure. ^[6]

Venky Atluri married Pooja Chowdary in February 2023.

Filmography

Key

†	Denotes film or TV productions that have not yet been released

• All films are in Telugu, unless otherwise noted.

As a film director

Year	Title	Language	Notes	Ref.
2018	Tholi Prema	Telugu		[7]
2019	Mr. Majnu			[8]
2021	Rang De			[9]
2023	Vaathi	Tamil		[10]
	Sir	Telugu
2024	Lucky Baskhar			[11]
2026	Vishwanath and Sons †	Tamil	Filming	[12]

Other crew positions

Year	Title	Writer	Actor	Role	Notes	Ref.
2007	Gnapakam	No	Yes	Srinu	credited as Atluri Venkateswara Rao
2010	Sneha Geetham	Dialogues	Yes	Ravi	Uncredited as writer	[13] [14]
2011	It's My Love Story	Dialogues	No		Uncredited	[15]
2015	Kerintha	Yes	No

Awards and nominations

Award	Year	Category	Work	Result	Ref.
Filmfare Awards South	2026	Best Director – Telugu	Lucky Baskhar	Nominated	[16]
		Critics Best Film – Telugu		Won	[17]
South Indian International Movie Awards	2019	Best Debut Director – Telugu	Tholi Prema	Nominated	[18]
	2025	Best Director – Telugu	Lucky Baskhar	Nominated	[19]
Telangana Gaddar Film Awards	2025	Best Screenplay Writer		Won	[20]
Zee Cine Awards Telugu	2019	Favorite Debut Director	Tholi Prema	Won

References

1. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/telugu/movies/news/director-venky-atluri-enters-wedlock-nithiin-congratulates-newlyweds/articleshow/97518499.cms
2. "Tholi Prema: Varun Tej says he has done justice to the title of Pawan Kalyan's 1998 film". Firstpost. 22 January 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
3. Janani K. (25 January 2019). "Mr Majnu Movie Review: Akhil Akkineni shines in Venky film but not bright enough". India Today. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
4. Sangeetha Devi Dundoo (31 October 2024). "'Lucky Baskhar' movie review: Venky Atluri, Dulquer Salmaan deliver an entertaining drama". The Hindu. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
5. "Quick Peek - GNAPAKAM". Idlebrain.com . Hyderabad. 12 April 2007.
6. Nelluri, Maya (25 January 2018). "Interview with Venky Atluri about Mr.Majnu by Maya Nelluri". Idlebrain.com . Hyderabad.
7. "Tholi Prema director Venky Atluri". Hindustan Times. 14 February 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
8. "Director Venky Atluri of 'Mr. Majnu' keeps his fingers crossed". The Hindu. 25 January 2019. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
9. "Venky Atluri, Nithiin, Keerthy Suresh's 'Rang De' pooja done". The Times of India. 9 October 2019. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
10. "Dhanush's bilingual film Vaathi commences shooting". Cinema Express. 3 January 2022.
11. The Times of India (17 October 2024). "Director Venky Atluri reveals plot details for Dulquer Salmaan's 'Lucky Baskhar'" . Retrieved 21 October 2024.
12. "Suriya, Venky Atluri, Mamitha Baju's bilingual film Suriya 46 goes on floors". Filmfare . 19 May 2025.
13. "Interview with Venky Atluri about Rang De". Idlebrain.com . Hyderabad. 25 March 2020.
14. "From A Failed Actor To A Hit Film Maker". APHerald. 15 February 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
15. "From A Failed Actor To A Hit Film Maker". APHerald. 15 February 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
16. "Nominations for The 70th Filmfare Awards South With Kerala Tourism (Telugu) | Filmfare.com". www.filmfare.com. Retrieved 23 February 2026.
17. "Full List of Winners of The 70th Filmfare Awards South With Kerala Tourism (Telugu)". Filmfare . 22 February 2026. Retrieved 23 February 2026.
18. "SIIMA Awards 2019: Here's a complete list of nominees". The Times of India. 19 July 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
19. "SIIMA 2025 Telugu, Kannada winners list: Allu Arjun, Rashmika Mandanna win big for Pushpa 2; Kamal Haasan, Amitabh Bachchan honoured for Kalki 2898 AD". The Indian Express. 6 September 2025. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
20. "Gaddar Telangana Film Awards 2024 full list of winners: Kalki 2898 AD wins best film, Allu Arjun wins best actor". Hindustan Times. 29 May 2025. Retrieved 25 January 2026.

External links

• Venky Atluri at IMDb