Gunasekar (born 2 June 1964) is an Indian film director and screenwriter known for his works in

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

. He has directed films in

action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

romance Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings * Romance languages, ...

, mythological, and historical drama genres. He has won a

National Film Award The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directora ...

, multiple

Nandi Awards The Nandi Awards are the awards that recognise the excellence in Telugu cinema, Telugu theatre and Telugu television, and Lifetime achievements in Indian cinema. Presented annually by the Government of Andhra Pradesh, the award is named after ...

, and a

Filmfare Award South Filmfare Awards South is the South Indian segment of the annual Filmfare Awards, presented by the Filmfare magazine of The Times Group to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Indian film industry encompassing f ...

. Gunasekhar directed the mythological film ''

Ramayanam The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE, and later stages ...

'' (1997), which won the

National Film Award for Best Children's Film The National Film Award for Best Children's Film is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India. It is one of several awards ...

and was screened at the International Children's Film Festival of India. His 2003

action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include l ...

Okkadu ''Okkadu'' ( ''The One'') is a 2003 Indian Telugu-language romantic action film written and directed by Gunasekhar. It stars Mahesh Babu, Bhumika Chawla and Prakash Raj. The film was produced by M.S. Raju while music was composed by Mani Sharm ...

was huge commercial success becoming the highest grossing Telugu film of that year and was remade into various Indian languages. His other notable films include ''

Sogasu Chooda Tharamaa ''Sogasu Chooda Tarama!'' () is a 1995 Telugu romance film directed by Gunasekhar. The film stars Naresh, Indraja, Tanikella Bharani, Mallikarjuna Rao, and Ramana Murthy. The film won four Nandi Awards. It was not commercially successful. The ...

'' (1995), ''

Choodalani Vundi ''Choodalani Vundi'' () is a 1998 Indian Telugu-language action drama film written and directed by Gunasekhar, and produced by C. Aswani Dutt under Vyjayanthi Movies. This film stars Chiranjeevi, Soundarya, Anjala Zaveri and Prakash Raj. The fi ...

'' (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 Talasila Kranthi Kumar was an Indian film director, producer, and screenwriter known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema. He won two Filmfare Awards and four Nandi Awards. In 1985, he directed '' Sravanthi'', which won the National Fi ...

, and

Ram Gopal Varma Penmetsa Ram Gopal Varma (born 7 April 1962), often referred to by his initials RGV, is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer, known for his works in Telugu cinema in addition to Hindi, Kannada language films, and television.** * ...

. 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 The Nandi Award The Nandi Awards are the awards that recognise the excellence in Telugu cinema, Telugu theatre and Telugu television, and Lifetime achievements in Indian cinema. Presented annually by the Government of Andhra Pradesh, the aw ...

. He directed the super-hit

romance film Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey ...

, ''

'' (1995), which received the

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 ...

. In 1997, Gunasekhar directed the mythological film ''

'', which won the

and was screened at the International Children's Film Festival of India. His next film was the action thriller ''

'' (1998), which introduced the DTS sound to the Telugu screen and was a box-office hit. The film was later remade into Hindi as, ''

Calcutta Mail ''Calcutta Mail'' is a 2003 Indian action thriller film starring Anil Kapoor, Rani Mukerji and Manisha Koirala. It was directed by Sudhir Mishra. The film is a remake of the 1998 Telugu film ''Choodalani Vundi''. Plot Avinash (Anil Kapoor) ...

''. He then directed the political thriller, '' Manoharam'' (2000), which again bagged the Nandi Award for Best Story, and the

. His 2003

, ''

'', was a huge critical and commercial success, becoming the highest grossing Telugu film of that year and was remade into various Indian languages. The 2004 drama film, '' Arjun'', was screened at the International Film Festival of India in the mainstream section. His latest venture is the

historical film A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romances, adventure films, and swa ...

, ''Rudhramadevi'' which was released in October 2015 to widely mixed reviews but despite that it became an average grosser of the year.

Personal life

Gunasekher is married to Ragini, and the couple has two daughters – Neelima and Yukhta.

Filmography and awards

References

External links

home page
* {{authority control Living people 20th-century Indian film directors Nandi Award winners Telugu film directors Filmfare Awards South winners CineMAA Awards winners 21st-century Indian film directors Film directors from Andhra Pradesh People from Visakhapatnam district Telugu screenwriters Telugu film producers Film producers from Andhra Pradesh Screenwriters from Andhra Pradesh 1964 births Directors who won the Best Children's Film National Film Award People from Uttarandhra