Shobu Yarlagadda and Prasad Devineni are an Indian film producer duo. They founded

Arka Media Works Arka Media Works is an Indian film production and trans-media company based in Hyderabad known for their works in Telugu cinema and Television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. ...

, a film production company known for its 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 ...

and Telugu Television Programs and Shows. Their notable productions include '' Vedam'' (2010), ''

Maryada Ramanna ''Maryada Ramanna'' is a 2010 Indian Telugu-language comedy drama film directed by S. S. Rajamouli, who co-wrote the script with S. S. Kanchi. Produced by Shobu Yarlagadda and Prasad Devineni under Arka Media Works, the film stars Sunil ...

'' (2010), the ''Baahubali'' film series (2015–2017) and '' Uma Maheswara Ugra Roopasya'' (2020). Yarlagadda and Devineni have together garnered two

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 ...

, two state

Nandi Awards The Nandi Awards are annual awards presented by the Government of Andhra Pradesh to recognise excellence in Telugu cinema, theatre, and television, as well as lifetime achievements in Indian cinema. The awards are named after the monolithic ...

, three Filmfare South Awards, two

SIIMA The South Indian International Movie Awards (SIIMA Awards) rewards the artistic and technical achievements of the South Indian film industry. It was launched in 2012 by Vishnu Vardhan Induri and Brinda Prasad Adusimilli to appreciate and hono ...

awards, one Zee Cine Awards Telugu and a

Saturn Award The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films bel ...

Early life

Shobu Yarlagadda was born in

Gudivada Gudivada is a city in Krishna district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipality and the headquarters of Gudivada mandal in Gudivada revenue division. It is one of the cities in the state to be a part of Andhra Pradesh Cap ...

Krishna District Krishna district is a district in the Coastal Andhra region in Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, with Machilipatnam as its administrative headquarters. It is surrounded on the East by Bay of Bengal, West by Guntur district, Guntur, Bapatla distric ...

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 ...

. He graduated in Civil and Environmental Engineering from

Andhra University Andhra University is a public university located in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. It was established in 1926. It is graded as an A++ institution by NAAC receiving a score of 3.74 on a scale of 4. History King Vikram Deo Verma, the Mah ...

in 1992. He graduated in Agricultural Engineering from

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

in 1995. For over a year and a half, he worked as an Air Resources Engineer in

Greater Los Angeles Area Greater Los Angeles is the most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. state of California, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino County and Riverside County in the east, ...

for

California Air Resources Board The California Air Resources Board (CARB or ARB) is an agency of the government of California that aims to reduce air pollution. Established in 1967 when then-governor Ronald Reagan signed the Mulford-Carrell Act, combining the Bureau of Air S ...

. In 2001, he established

with

Prasad Devineni Shobu Yarlagadda and Prasad Devineni are an Indian film producer duo. They founded Arka Media Works, a film production company known for its works in Telugu cinema and Telugu Television Programs and Shows. Their notable productions include '' ...

. Shobu Yarlagadda is the son-in-law of veteran director K. Raghavendra Rao.

Career

In 2001, Yarlagadda established

; Arka means sun rays in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

. It produces television content in six languages (Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Oriya, Bangla and Marathi). He has worked as

line producer A line producer is a type of film or television producer who is the head of the production office management personnel during daily operations of a feature film, advertisement film, television film, or TV program. They are responsible for human re ...

for films such as ''

Morning Raga ''Morning Raga'' is a 2004 Indian English-language musical drama film written and directed by Mahesh Dattani, and produced by K. Raghavendra Rao under Arka Media Works. It stars Shabana Azmi, Prakash Kovelamudi, Perizaad Zorabian, Lillete Dub ...

'', and ''

Anaganaga O Dheerudu ''Anaganaga O Dheerudu'' (released internationally as ''Once Upon A Warrior'') is a 2011 Indian Telugu-language fantasy adventure film written and directed by Prakash Kovelamudi in his first mainstream film. It is produced by Walt Disney Pictu ...

''. He was

Executive Producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...

for films such as '' Bobby'' and ''

Pandurangadu ''Pandurangadu'' is 2008 Telugu language, Telugu-language biographical film, based on the life of Pundalik, Pundarika, produced by K. Krishna Mohana Rao on R. K. Film Associates banner, directed by K. Raghavendra Rao. Starring Nandamuri Balakris ...

.'' Prasad Devineni produced '' Pallakilo Pellikoothuru''. Yarlagadda and Devineni serve as the board members of

. They produced the two part '' Baahubali: The Beginning'' (2015) which premiered at the

Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival The Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFFF), previously named Brussels International Festival of Fantastic Film (, ) was created in 1983 as a venue for horror, thriller and science fiction films. It takes place in Brussels, eve ...

, and '' Baahubali 2: The Conclusion'' (2017) which premiered at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

, while becoming the highest grossing Indian multilingual film franchise of all time globally with a cumulative box office earnings of approximately . The first part of the Telugu film, The Beginning has received the

National Film Award for Best Feature Film The National Film Award for Best Feature Film is one of the categories in the National Film Awards presented annually by the National Film Development Corporation of India, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in I ...

, and got nominated for

Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film The Saturn Awards for Best Fantasy Film is an award presented to the best film in the fantasy genre by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. Winners and nominees 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s External links ...

by the American

Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films is an American non-profit organization established in 1972 dedicated to the advancement of science fiction, fantasy, and Horror fiction, horror in film, television, and home video. The Aca ...

. The second part has garnered the Telstra People's Choice Award at the 2017

Indian Film Festival of Melbourne The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) is an annual festival based in Melbourne founded in 2010. It was previously funded by Victoria State Government. It is presented by Film Victoria, and the provider is chosen through a tender process. ...

. The second part of the Telugu film, The Conclusion (2017) received the American

Saturn Award for Best International Film The Saturn Award for Best International Film is one of the annual awards given by the American professional organization, the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The Saturn Awards, which are the oldest film-specialized awards to ...

, and the Australian Telstra People's Choice Award.

Filmography

Awards and Nominations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yarlagadda, Shobu and Devineni, Prasad Living people Nandi Award winners Telugu film producers Texas A&M University alumni Engineers from Andhra Pradesh Film producers from Andhra Pradesh Businesspeople from Hyderabad, India Indian emigrants to the United States American people of Telugu descent Film people from Krishna district Filmfare Awards South winners Telstra People's Choice Award winners Producers who won the Best Feature Film National Film Award Producers who won the Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment National Film Award Santosham Film Awards winners Zee Cine Awards Telugu winners Indian filmmaking duos Year of birth missing (living people) Gaddar Telangana Film Awards winners