Gopichand Malineni (born 13 March 1980) is an Indian film director and screenwriter who works in

Telugu cinema Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Telugu language, widely spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Telugu cinema is based in Film Nagar, ...

. After working as an assistant director in many films, Malineni made his directional debut in 2010 with the action comedy film '' Don Seenu''. He went on to direct films such as ''

Bodyguard A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects a person or a group of people — usually witnesses, high-ranking public officials or officers ...

'', '' Balupu'', '' Pandaga Chesko'', '' Winner'' and '' Krack''.

Early life

Gopichand Malineni was born and brought up in Boddulurivaripalem village near

Ongole Ongole is a city in Prakasam district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the headquarters of Prakasam district and also the mandal headquarters of Ongole mandal in Ongole revenue division. Ongole cattle, an indigenous breed of oxe ...

Prakasam district Prakasam district is one of the thirteen districts in the coastal Andhra region of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It was formed in 1970 and reorganised in 2022 on April 4. The headquarters of the district is Ongole. It is located on the west ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to t ...

. His family hails from the same village. His primary education was done at Sarada Niketan School Prakasam District and upper primary at VR College

Nellore Nellore is a city located on the banks of Penna River, in Nellore district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of the district, as well as Nellore mandal and Nellore revenue division. It is the fourth most popu ...

. He discontinued his education in 12th class and entered into the film industry. Friends and family were always a huge support to Gopichand. He is married to Sri Satya on 14 February 2013. His son Satvik made his acting debut in ''Krack'' (2021) as a child actor.

Career

In his early career, Malineni worked as a Camera assistant for programmes telecast by ETV in

Warangal Warangal () is a city in the Indian state of Telangana and the district headquarters of Warangal district. It is the second largest city in Telangana with a population of 704,570 per 2011 Census of India, and spreading over an . Warangal se ...

. He was appreciated for his work in ETV News. Malineni started his career in the film industry as a camera assistant for the movie ''Hello I Love You'' directed by Veera Shankar. He then worked as an assistant in the direction department for the movie ''Police'' starring

Srihari Srihari (15 August 1964 – 9 October 2013) was an Indian actor who was active mainly in Telugu cinema. He appeared in a few Tamil, Kannada and Hindi films as well. He won seven Nandi Awards and one Filmfare Award. Early life Srihari was bor ...

in the lead role. He worked for four films with Srihari and later worked with

E.V.V. Satyanarayana Eedara Veera Venkata Satyanarayana (10 June 1956 21 January 2011) was an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer. He directed a total of 51 films in Telugu and Hindi and introduced many actors to Telugu cinema. He was well known for ma ...

for two films, with

Srinu Vytla Srinu Vaitla (born 24 September 1972) is an Indian film director who works in Telugu cinema. Known for his best film works in the action comedy genre, Vaitla made his directional debut with ''Nee Kosam'' (1999) starring Ravi Teja and Maheswari. ...

for '' Andarivaadu'', '' Venky'', ''

Dhee ''Dhee'' () is a 2007 Indian Telugu language, Telugu-language action film, action comedy film directed by Srinu Vytla and produced by Siri Venkateswara Films. The film stars Vishnu Manchu and Genelia D'Souza while Srihari and Brahmanandam pla ...

'' with A.R. Murugadoss for ''Stalin'', with Srivas for ''Lakshyam'', with Meher Ramesh for '' Kantri'' and ''Billa''. He made his directorial debut with '' Don Seenu'' starring

Ravi Teja Bhupatiraju Ravi Shankar Raju (born 26 January 1968), known professionally as Ravi Teja, is an Indian film actor and producer who predominantly works in Telugu cinema. He is known for his roles in action comedy films. He is one of the highest- ...

and

Shriya Saran Shriya Saran Bhatnagar (; born 11 September 1982) is an Indian actress who works predominantly in Telugu, Tamil, and Hindi-language films. Although Saran aspired to become a well-known dancer, she became an actress with her film debut in 2001 ...

in the lead and it was one of the biggest hit films in 2010. In 2012 he directed ''Bodyguard'' with

Venkatesh Venkatesh is a given name and family name from the Indian subcontinent derived from Venkateswara, a Hindu deity. Notable persons with the name include: * A. Venkatesh Naik (born 1936), member of the 14th Lok Sabha of India * A. Venkatesh (director) ...

and Trisha on the lead. In 2013 he directed a film '' Balupu'' starring Ravi Teja, Shruti Haasan and Journey fame Anjali under the production of PVP Cinema, this movies was known as the comeback film of Ravi Teja. The film was released on 28 June 2013. ''Balupu'' was Malineni's second film with Ravi Teja after ''Don Seenu''. The film received positive reviews from critics. and was successful at the box office. Later, Malineni established his name in the industry with other hits like, '' Pandaga Chesko'', starring Ram Pothineni and

Rakul Preet Singh Rakul Preet Singh (born 10 October 1990) is an Indian actress who predominantly works in Telugu, Hindi and Tamil films. She made her acting debut with the Kannada film '' Gilli'' (2009). She has won several awards including a SIIMA Award wit ...

in lead roles. This movie was another hit for Malineni and a comeback for Ram Pothineni. In 2017, Malineni made a flop with ''Winner'' starring Sai Dharam Tej and

in lead role.

Filmography

;Cameo appearances *''

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

'' (2006) *'' Winner'' (2017) as biker

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Malineni, Gopichand Telugu film directors Living people People from Ongole Film directors from Andhra Pradesh 21st-century Indian film directors 1980 births Indian film directors People from Andhra Pradesh People from Prakasam district