Srinu Vaitla (born 24 September 1972) is an Indian film director and screenwriter known for his work 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 ...

, particularly in the

action comedy The action comedy is a film genre that applies to action films where humor plays a much more central role. While early films feature stuntwork and humor, academic Cynthia King wrote that the genre only came into its own as a mainstay of the America ...

genre. He has received several accolades, including five

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 for Best Screenplay Writer—and a Filmfare Award South for Best Director – Telugu. Vaitla made his directorial debut with the romantic film '' Nee Kosam'' (1999) and gained recognition with '' Anandam'' (2001), also a romantic drama. He later shifted to comedy and action-comedy films, directing projects such as ''Sontham'' (2002), '' Venky'' (2004), ''Dhee'' (2007), '' Dubai Seenu'' (2007), ''Ready'' (2008), ''King'' (2008), '' Dookudu'' (2011), and ''Baadshah'' (2013). His films from ''Sontham'' onward are widely referenced in Telugu popular culture and have attained

cult status A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The latter is often called a cult classic. A film, book ...

for their comedy scenes and characters. Since ''Venky'', he has frequently collaborated with writers

Kona Venkat Kona Venkat ( born 19 February 1965) is an Indian screenwriter and producer known for his works in Telugu and Hindi cinema. He is known for his works in box office hits such as '' Alludu Seenu'', '' Amma Nanna O Tamila Ammayi'', '' Baadshah'', '' ...

and Gopi Mohan.

Early life

Srinu Vaitla was born in Kandulapalem near Ramachandrapuram in the erstwhile

East Godavari district East Godavari is a district in the Coastal Andhra region of Andhra Pradesh, India. Its district headquarters is at Rajamahendravaram. Geography This district is surrounded by: * North East: Alluri Sitharama Raju district * North West: Eluru ...

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 completed his

intermediate education A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

Kakinada Kakinada (; formerly known as Cocanada) is a Port, port city and municipal corporation in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Situated along the Bay of Bengal, it serves as the headquarters of Kakinada district and is a prominent economic and c ...

. He developed a strong interest in cinema and frequently watched films instead of attending college. Inspired by directors

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 ...

and

Vamsy Vamsy (born Nallamilli Bavireddy) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, littérateur, composer, poet, producer, actor and cartoonist known for his works in Telugu cinema, and television. He got breakthrough with ''Sitaara'' (1984), which wo ...

, he decided to pursue a career in the Telugu film industry. After completing his intermediate education in 1989, he boarded the Bokaro Express from Samalkot to

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

, aiming to establish himself in the industry.

Filmography

;As actor *''

Rainbow A rainbow is an optical phenomenon caused by refraction, internal reflection and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a continuous spectrum of light appearing in the sky. The rainbow takes the form of a multicoloured circular ...

'' (2008)

Awards

Nandi Award for Best Feature Film This is the list of winners of the Nandi Award for Best Feature Films since 1964. Best Feature Film - Gold Second Best Feature Film - Silver Third Best Feature Film - Bronze References See also * Cinema of Andhra Pradesh {{DEFAULTSORT:Na ...

('' Nee Kosam'') * Nandi Award for Best First Film of a Director (''Nee Kosam'') * Nandi Award for Best Screenplay Writer (''Nee Kosam'') * Nandi Award for Best Screenplay Writer ('' Dhee'') * Nandi Award for Best Screenplay Writer ('' Dookudu'') * Filmfare Award for Best Director - Telugu (''Dookudu'') * CinemAA Awards – Best Director (''Dookudu'') *

South Indian International Movie Awards 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 ...

– Best Director (''Dookudu'') * Times of India Film Awards – Best Director (''Dookudu'')

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vaitla, Srinu Living people Film directors from Andhra Pradesh Nandi Award winners CineMAA Awards winners South Indian International Movie Awards winners Filmfare Awards South winners Film people from East Godavari district 20th-century Indian people 21st-century Indian people 1972 births