Gunasekhar

Gunasekar (born 2 June 1964) is an Indian film director and screenwriter known for his works in Telugu cinema. He has directed films in action, romance, mythological, and historical drama genres. He has won a National Film Award, multiple Nandi Awards, and a Filmfare Award South.

Gunasekar
Gunasekhar in 2015
Born
Gunasekar

2 June 1964 (1964-06-02) (age 59)[1]
Narsipatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India
Occupations
  • Director
  • screenwriter
  • producer
SpouseRagini
Children2; including Neelima

Gunasekhar directed the historical epic film Ramayanam (1997), which won the National Film Award for Best Children's Film and was screened at the International Children's Film Festival of India.[2][3] His 2003 action film, Okkadu was huge commercial success becoming the highest grossing Telugu film of that year and was remade into various Indian languages.[4][5] His other notable films include Sogasu Chooda Tharamaa (1995), Choodalani Vundi (1998), Manoharam (2000), and Rudhramadevi (2015).

Career

Before venturing into mainstream film direction, Gunasekar worked as an associate director to D. V. Narsaraju, Kranthi Kumar, and Ram Gopal Varma.[6] Gunasekhar made his directorial debut with the socio-political Lathi (1992), for which he received the state Nandi Award for Best First Film of a Director.

He directed the super-hit romance film, Sogasu Chooda Tharamaa (1995), which received the Nandi Award for Best Feature Film. In 1997, Gunasekhar directed the mythological film Ramayanam, which won the National Film Award for Best Children's Film and was screened at the International Children's Film Festival of India.[2][3]

His next film was the action thriller Choodalani Vundi (1998), which introduced the DTS sound to the Telugu screen and was a box-office hit.[7] The film was later remade into Hindi as, Calcutta Mail. He then directed the political thriller, Manoharam (2000), which again bagged the Nandi Award for Best Story, and the Nandi Award for Best Feature Film.

His 2003 action film, Okkadu, was a huge critical and commercial success, becoming the highest grossing Telugu film of that year and was remade into various Indian languages.[4][5] The 2004 drama film, Arjun, was screened at the International Film Festival of India in the mainstream section.[8]

His 2015 historical film, Rudhramadevi which was released in October 2015 to widely mixed reviews but despite that it became an average grosser of the year.[9][10][11]

His latest venture was mythological romantic drama film Shaakuntalam which was theatrically released on 14 April 2023. The film was panned by critics and became a huge commercial failure.[12]

Personal life

Gunasekher is married to Ragini, and the couple have two daughters, Neelima and Yukhta.[13]

Filmography and awards
Year Film Director Producer Screenwriter Awards and Honors
1992LaatiYesNoYesNandi Award for Best First Film of a Director[14]
1995Sogasu Chooda TharamaaYesNoYesNandi Award for Best Screenplay Writer
1997RamayanamYesNoYesNational Film Award for Best Children's Film
International Children's Film Festival of India
1998Choodalani VundiYesNoYes
2000ManoharamYesNoYes
2001MrugarajuYesNoYes
2003OkkaduYesNoYesNandi Award for Best Director
Filmfare Award for Best Director – Telugu
2004ArjunYesNoYesInternational Film Festival of India
2006SainikuduYesNoYes
2010VaruduYesNoYes
2012NippuYesNoYes
2015RudhramadeviYesYesYes
2023ShaakuntalamYesYesYes

References
  1. "Happy Birthday Gunasekhar: From Ramayanam to Rudhramadevi, best 5 movies of the filmmaker that you must watch". The Times of India. 2 June 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  2. IANS (8 September 2014). "Glad we finished Rudhramadevi on time: Gunasekhar". The Hindu.
  3. Sangeetha Devi Dundoo (9 October 2015). "Rudhramadevi review". The Hindu.
  4. "YVS, Gunasekar & Ravi were rommates". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 24 May 2013.
  5. "Deccan Chronicle - Latest India news - Breaking news - Hyderabad News - World news - Business - Politics".
  6. "Gunasekhar, RGV, Krishna Vamsi, Teja, Uttej Old Photo - Gunasekhar". Gulte.com.
  7. "Chiranjeevi starrer Choodalani Vundi clocks 22 years; Take a look at some working stills - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  8. "Directorate of Film Festival" (PDF). iffi.nic.in. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 November 2011. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
  9. "Rudhramadevi Movie Review {3/5}: Critic Review of Rudhramadevi by Times of India". The Times of India.
  10. Arikatla, Venkat (10 October 2015). "Rudramadevi Review: Good Effort Gone Awry". greatandhra.com. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  11. "Allu Arjun Hit and Flop Movies | Actor Allu Arjun Films List". 11 July 2016.
  12. "Madhoo opens up about Samantha-starrer Shaakuntalam's box office failure, says 'I feel very sad...'". India Today. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  13. kavirayani, suresh (16 October 2015). "Gunasekhar's dynamic duo". Deccan Chronicle.
  14. "నంది అవార్డు విజేతల పరంపర (1964–2008)" [A series of Nandi Award Winners (1964–2008)] (PDF). Information & Public Relations of Andhra Pradesh. Retrieved 21 August 2020.(in Telugu)
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