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Prasanth Varma is an Indian film director and screenwriter who 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 is best known for directing ''Awe'' (2018), ''Kalki'' (2019), ''
Zombie Reddy ''Zombie Reddy'' is a 2021 Indian Telugu-language horror crime thriller film directed by Prasanth Varma and starring Teja Sajja, Anandhi, and Daksha Nagarkar. Produced by Apple Trees Studios, the film is marketed as the first zombie film i ...
'' (2021) and ''
Hanu-Man ''Hanu-Man'' (also marketed as ''HanuMan'') is a 2024 Indian Telugu-language superhero film written and directed by Prasanth Varma and produced by K. Niranjan Reddy under Primeshow Entertainment. It stars Teja Sajja in the title role, alongsi ...
'' (2024). His debut film ''Awe'' won at the
National film awards The National Film Awards are awards for artistic and technical merit given for "Excellence within the Cinema of India, Indian film industry". Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India ...
for Best Special Effects, and Best Make-up. He is also the co-founder of Scriptsville, an organization dedicated to supporting screenwriting in Telugu cinema.


Early life

Prasanth Varma was born on 29 May 1989 in
Palakollu Palakollu is a city and the administrative headquarters of Palakollu Mandal in Narasapuram revenue division in West Godavari district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Palakollu is situated in Coastal Andhra region of the state. It occupie ...
,
Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...
in a
Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...
family, to Narayana Raju, a civil contractor, and Kanaka Durga, a government school teacher. He has a younger sister, Sneha Sameera. He attended Sri Saraswathi Sisu Mandir in Palakollu, where his education included an extra subject focusing on stories from the
Itihasas In Hinduism, Itihasa-Purana, also called the fifth Veda, refers to the traditional accounts of cosmogeny, myths, royal genealogies of the lunar dynasty and solar dynasty, and legendary past events, as narrated in the ''Itihasa'' (Mahabharat ...
, such as the ''
Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...
'', ''
Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...
'', and ''Bhagavatham''. After completing his schooling, he graduated from CVR College of Engineering in 2010. Varma's passion for mythological stories is shared by his younger sister, Sneha Sameera, who is also part of his Scriptsville team. He married Sukanya Raju in 2020.


Career


2011–2017: Early career

Prasanth Varma began his career in 2011 by directing a short film ''Deenamma Jeevitham.'' He then directed ad films and a few
short films A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...
, including ''A Silent Melody'' (2014) and ''Dialogue in the Dark'' (2017). In 2015, he directed a five-episode web series, ''Not Out'', starring
Brian Lara Brian Charles Lara, (born 2 May 1969) is a Trinidadian former international cricketer, widely renowned as one of the greatest Batting (cricket), batsmen of all time. He holds several cricketing records, including the record for the highest in ...
, which premiered on
YuppTV YuppTV is an over-the-top (OTT) content provider for South Asian content including live television and films with recording and storage features. YuppTV allows broadcasters and content providers to reach an audience, and allows consumers to vie ...
. In an interview with ''
Idlebrain.com Idlebrain.com is an Indian entertainment website dedicated to Telugu cinema. Established in 1999 by G. V. Ramana, popularly known as Jeevi, a graduate of BITS Pilani, the site is among the oldest websites on the Internet focused on Telugu films ...
'', Prasanth Varma named
Singeetam Srinivasa Rao Singeetam Srinivasa Rao (born 21 September 1931) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer, composer, and actor. He is widely regarded as one of India's most versatile and innovative filmmakers. He has directed around sixty films across ...
as his biggest inspiration, admiring how he never repeated himself in his work. He is also influenced by
Christopher Nolan Sir Christopher Edward Nolan (born 30 July 1970) is a British and American filmmaker. Known for his Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Blockbuster (entertainment), blockbusters with complex storytelling, he is considered a leading filmma ...
,
K. Viswanath Kasinadhuni Viswanath (19 February 1930 – 2 February 2023) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, lyricist and actor who predominantly worked in Telugu cinema. One of the greatest auteurs of Indian cinema, he received international recogn ...
, and
Mani Ratnam Gopalaratnam Subramaniam (born 2 June 1956), known professionally as Mani Ratnam, is an Indian film director, film producer and screenwriter who predominantly works in Tamil cinema and a few Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films. H ...
.


2018–present: Directorial debut and critical acclaim

In 2017, Prashanth Varma presented the storyline of ''Awe'' to actor Nani, securing its production through Wall Poster Cinema alongside
Prashanti Tipirneni Prashanti Tipirneni is an Indian costume designer and producer who is noted for her work in Telugu films. She started her career with the 2010 film ''Vedam'' and later worked for the ''Baahubali'' film series. She was nominated along with Rama ...
. Released in 2018, the film marked his directorial debut and garnered acclaim for its subversive depiction of psychological and social issues, including
child abuse Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical abuse, physical, child sexual abuse, sexual, emotional and/or psychological abuse, psychological maltreatment or Child neglect, neglect of a child, especially by a p ...
,
sexual abuse Sexual abuse or sex abuse is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using physical force, or by taking advantage of another. It often consists of a persistent pattern of sexual assaults. The offender is re ...
, and
drug abuse Substance misuse, also known as drug misuse or, in older vernacular, substance abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods that are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder, differing definitions ...
. Critics, including
Baradwaj Rangan Baradwaj Rangan () is an Indian film critic and writer. A chemical engineering graduate with no formal training in filmmaking or cinema writing, he has a diverse career in advertising, IT consulting, and cinema writing. He has authored two boo ...
, praised his narrative and direction, with special emphasis on the portrayal of lesbian characters in the movie. The film's success also highlighted Varma's ability to effectively integrate visual effects into storytelling, a skill he honed through hands-on experience in his early career. Following ''Awe'', Varma continued to explore diverse genres. His next release, ''Kalki'' (2019), starring Rajasekhar and produced by C. Kalyan, was originally conceived as a
web series A web series (also known as webseries, short-form series, and web show) is a series of short scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet (i.e. World Wide Web), which first emerged in the late 1 ...
. However, Varma adapted the screenplay into a feature film format, a process that took eight months. ''Kalki'' received mixed reviews from critics. Prasanth Varma's third release was ''
Zombie Reddy ''Zombie Reddy'' is a 2021 Indian Telugu-language horror crime thriller film directed by Prasanth Varma and starring Teja Sajja, Anandhi, and Daksha Nagarkar. Produced by Apple Trees Studios, the film is marketed as the first zombie film i ...
'' (2021), originally scheduled for 2020 but delayed due to the
COVID-19 lockdown in India On the evening of 24 March 2020, the Government of India ordered a nationwide lockdown for 21days, limiting the movement of the entire 1.38billion (138 crores) population of India as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 pandemic in India. ...
. Marketed as the first
zombie film A zombie film is a film genre. Zombies are fictional creatures usually portrayed as reanimated corpses or virally infected human beings. They are commonly portrayed as cannibalistic in nature. While zombie films generally fall into the horror ...
in
Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...
, it received positive reviews and performed well at the box office. Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of ''
The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...
'' wrote that "In one stroke, director Prasanth Varma juxtaposes different worlds—a pandemic looming large, zombies, Rayalaseema faction rivalry—to hilarious effect" On 29 May 2021, he announced his next film ''
Hanu-Man ''Hanu-Man'' (also marketed as ''HanuMan'') is a 2024 Indian Telugu-language superhero film written and directed by Prasanth Varma and produced by K. Niranjan Reddy under Primeshow Entertainment. It stars Teja Sajja in the title role, alongsi ...
.'' The film is marketed as the first
Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...
Superhero film Superhero film/movie is a film genre categorized by the presence of superhero characters, individuals with extraordinary abilities who are dedicated to fighting crime, saving the world, or helping the innocent. It is sometimes considered a sub ...
. Starring
Teja Sajja Teja Sajja (born 23 August 1995) is an Indian actor who works in Telugu cinema. He began his career as a child actor in ''Choodalani Vundi'' (1998) leading up to ''Boss ''(2006). As an adult, Sajja had a supporting role in ''Oh! Baby'' (2019) ...
as Hanumanthu and
Amritha Aiyer Amritha Aiyer (born 14 May 1994) is an Indian actress who appears predominantly in Tamil and Telugu films. Her first lead role was in the Tamil film '' Padaiveeran'' in 2018 and she has since starred in the Tamil films '' Bigil'' (2019) and '' ...
as Meenakshi, the film was released on 12 January 2024, coinciding with
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 ...
. It served as the first installment of the Prasanth Varma Cinematic Universe (PVCU), inspired by Indian mythology. The film received highly positive reviews for its direction, screenwriting, performances, visualization, background score, VFX, production design and action sequences. With a global box office gross of over ₹350 crore, it became the highest-grossing Telugu film of 2024, the highest-grossing Indian film of 2024 and the eight highest-grossing Telugu film of all time.


Scriptsville

In 2018, Prasanth Varma founded Scriptsville with his sister Sneha Sameera to enhance screenwriting 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 ...
. Scriptsville aims to help new and unrecognized writers gain recognition and proper credit. The idea for Scriptsville came from Prasanth's understanding of the industry's need for professional script development and writer recognition. After the success of his debut film ''Awe'', Prasanth and Sameera launched Scriptsville to offer a platform for both emerging and established writers. They invited writers to submit their ideas and received over a thousand submissions, from which a few promising stories were chosen for development. Initially, Scriptsville began with ten writers—five full-time and five working remotely or part-time. Scriptsville has played a role in developing several scripts, including those for Prasanth's film ''Kalki''. The organization assists with dialogues, screenplay structure, and solving script issues. They also plan to sell scripts to directors and producers to promote quality writing. As of May 2023, Scriptsville continues to work on new films and web series, advancing its goal to improve screenwriting in Telugu cinema.


Filmography

Other works


Television


References


External links

* * {{Authority control 1989 births 21st-century Indian people Film directors from Andhra Pradesh Indian advertising directors Indian film directors Indian screenwriters Living people People from Palakollu Film people from West Godavari district Screenwriters from Andhra Pradesh Telugu film directors Telugu screenwriters Gaddar Telangana Film Awards winners