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 | |
TBA | Kubera † | Tamil Telugu Hindi | Yes | Yes | No | Pre-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.
Sumanth Kumar Yarlagadda, 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.
Kamalinee Mukherjee is an Indian actress. She has predominantly appeared in Telugu films as well as Malayalam, Tamil, Hindi, Bengali and Kannada language films.
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.
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 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. He won the Nandi Award for Best Cinematographer for the film Godavari (2006). He is the son of cinematographer C. Nageshwara Rao. Vijay Kumar's work is most noted for innovative use of lighting, subject specific visualization, use of natural colors on screen, Tele-focus shots, balancing the depth of focus between the subject and objects and many more techniques. Some of his films in Telugu cinema are Vivaha Bhojanambu, Ammoru, Agraham, Dollar Dreams, Anand and Happy Days.
Kamal Kamaraju is an Indian actor and screenwriter known for his works in Telugu cinema and theatre.
Richa Gangopadhyay Langella is an American born former actress and model who predominantly appeared in Telugu language films. She presently resides at Portland, Oregon.
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.
Konidela Varun Tej is an Indian actor who works in Telugu films. Born in the Allu–Konidela family, Tej is the son of actor Nagendra Babu. Tej made his acting debut in 2014 with Mukunda.
Gottimukkala Venkata Rama Raju is an Indian film director and scriptwriter associated with Telugu cinema. He is from the town of Bhimavaram, West Godavari District, Andhra Pradesh. Ramaraju has undertaken many professions in his life and finally ended up in film industry. His first movie Mallela Theeram Lo Sirimalle Puvvu starring Kranthi, Sri Divya receiving critical acclaim from the directors Sekhar Kammula, V. V. Vinayak and Harish Shankar. His second movie Oka Manasu is a romantic drama starring Niharika Konidela and Naga Shourya which released June 2016. His third movie Priyuraalu is a romantic drama starring Prithvi Medavaram, Mounika Kalapala, Kaushik Reddy and Kamakshi Bhaskarla which released direct-to-streaming on SonyLIV. The film premiered on 17 September 2021 and received mixed reviews from the critics.
Tharun Bhascker Dhaassyam is an Indian film director, writer, actor, and television presenter who works in Telugu Film Industry. He directed the critically acclaimed romantic comedy film 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 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 Sai Pallavi and Naga Chaitanya 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.
Palasa 1978 is a 2020 Indian Telugu-language period action thriller film written and directed by Karuna Kumar in his directorial debut. The film stars Rakshith, Nakshatra, and Raghu Kunche who also composed the music. Prawin Yendamuri and Thiruveer play a supporting roles. The film is set in 1970s in Palasa, a town in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh and revolves around the incidents related to caste discrimination and untouchability. The film was listed in the Film Companion's "Top 7 Telugu films of 2020" chart.
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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