Kolli Santosh Ravindra is an Indian film director and

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

, who primarily works in

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

. He won the Best Debut Director Award, for ''

Power Power may refer to: Common meanings * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power, a type of energy * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events Math ...

'' (2014), at the

Santosham Film Awards Santosham Film Awards, currently known as Santosham South Indian Film Awards are one of the most popular awards given for Tollywood films and Telugu Music Artistes. Background The awards first began in 2004 by the annual ''Santosham'' magazine ...

Early life and career

Kolli Santosh Ravindra was born and brought up in

Guntur Guntur (), natively spelt as Gunturu, is a city in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of Guntur district. The city is part of the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region and is lo ...

, India. After graduating with a B. Com degree, Ravindra started his film career in 2003 and joined writer Chinna Krishna. He went on to work under several directors including Dasaradh and

Gopichand Malineni Gopichand Malineni (born 13 March 1980) is an Indian film director and screenwriter who works in Telugu cinema. After working as an assistant director in many films, Malineni made his directional debut in 2010 with the action comedy film '' Don ...

. Ravindra made his directorial debut with ''Power'' (2014), starring

Ravi Teja Bhupatiraju Ravi Shankar Raju (born 26 January 1968), known professionally as Ravi Teja, is an Indian actor and film producer known for his work in Telugu cinema. Recognised for his roles in action comedy films, he is popularly referred to as ...

. His 2016 directorial, ''

Sardaar Gabbar Singh ''Sardaar Gabbar Singh'' is a 2016 Indian Telugu-language masala film co-written and directed by Bobby Kolli, (credited as K. S. Ravindra) based on an original story by Pawan Kalyan. A sequel to '' Gabbar Singh'' (2012), it stars Pawan Kalyan re ...

'', starring

Pawan Kalyan Konidela Pawan Kalyan (born Konidela Kalyan Kumar; 2 September 1971) is an Indian politician, actor, philanthropist, and martial artist serving as the List of deputy chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh, 11th Deputy Chief Minister of Andhra Prade ...

was a commercial failure. His next film, ''

Jai Lava Kusa ''Jai Lava Kusa'' is a 2017 Indian Telugu-language action drama film written by Kona Venkat and directed by K. S. Ravindra (Bobby Kolli) and produced by Nandamuri Kalyan Ram under his banner N. T. R. Arts. The film stars N. T. Rama Rao Jr ...

'' (2017) where

Jr NTR Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao Jr. (born 20 May 1983), popularly known as NTR Jr, is an Indian actor, producer, and television presenter who primarily works in Telugu cinema. He is one of the highest-paid actors in Indian cinema and has been featur ...

essayed three roles, was a blockbuster at the box office, grossing over 100

crore Crore (; abbreviated cr) denotes the quantity ten million (107) and is equal to 100 lakh in the Indian numbering system. In many international contexts, the decimal quantity is formatted as 10,000,000, but when used in the context of the India ...

. In 2019, Ravindra directed ''

Venky Mama ''Venky Mama'' () is a 2019 Indian Telugu-language action comedy film directed by Bobby Kolli (credited as K. S. Bobby). It stars Venkatesh, Naga Chaitanya, Raashii Khanna, and Payal Rajput in the lead roles, while Nassar, Prakash Raj, and Rao ...

'', starring

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 (1936 - 2015), member of the 14th Lok Sabha of India * A. Venkatesh (direc ...

and

Naga Chaitanya Akkineni Naga Chaitanya (; born 23 November 1986) is an Indian actor who works in Telugu cinema. Chaitanya is a recipient of several accolades including one Filmfare Awards South, Filmfare Award South and one Nandi Award for his work. Born in ...

. Despite receiving mixed reviews, the film was a profitable venture. Karthik Kumar of ''

Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English language, English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media Limited, an entity controlled by the Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia, the daughter o ...

'' wrote, "Ravindra tries to milk the real life family bond between Venkatesh and Chaitanya in ''Venky Mama'', which relies heavily on the camaraderie between its lead actors." Hemanth Kumar in his review for ''Firstpost'' opined, "In his attempt to blend humour and sentiment, KS Ravindra (Bobby) turns ''Venky Mama'' into a bland drama, where the narrative moves from one set piece to another without leaving a strong impression." His next film, ''

Waltair Veerayya ''Waltair Veerayya'' is a 2023 Indian Telugu-language action thriller film directed by Bobby Kolli and produced by Mythri Movie Makers. The film stars Chiranjeevi as the title character alongside Ravi Teja, Shruti Haasan, Catherine Tresa, Praka ...

'', starring

Chiranjeevi Konidela Chiranjeevi (born Konidela Sivasankara Varaprasad; 22 August 1955) is an Indian actor, philanthropist and former politician known for his work in Telugu cinema. Known as the "Mega Star", he is widely regarded as one of the most succe ...

and

, released in January 2023, for

Sankranti Sankranti () refers to the transmigration of the sun from one zodiac to another in Indian astronomy. In ''Saurmana'' ''varsha'' (Hindu Solar year), there are twelve Sankrantis corresponding with twelve months of a year. The Sankrantis can be broa ...

. This was followed by ''

Daaku Maharaaj ''Daaku Maharaaj '' (transl. King of the Bandits) is a 2025 Indian Telugu-language action thriller film directed and co-written by Bobby Kolli and produced by Sithara Entertainments, Fortune Four Cinemas and Srikara Studios. The film stars Na ...

'' in January 2025.

Personal life

Ravindra is married to Anusha Dronavalli, the elder sister of chess player,

Harika Dronavalli Harika Dronavalli (born 12 January 1991) is an Indian chess player who holds the FIDE title of Grandmaster (GM). She was part of the gold winning women's team at the 45th Chess Olympiad in 2024. She has won three bronze medals in the Women's ...

. The couple has a daughter born in 2018.

Filmography

As a director

As a writer

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ravindra, K. S. Indian male screenwriters Telugu screenwriters Living people 1983 births Screenwriters from Andhra Pradesh Film people from Guntur district Film directors from Andhra Pradesh Telugu film directors Santosham Film Awards winners