Kovelamudi Bapayya is an Indian film director. He has directed about 80 films in

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

and Hindi languages. He is the cousin of noted director K. Raghavendra Rao and nephew of director and producer

K. S. Prakash Rao Kovelamudi Surya Prakash Rao (1914–1996) was an Indian film director, producer, actor and cinematographer known for his works in Telugu, Kannada, and Hindi films. In 1977 he won the Filmfare Award for Best Director – Kannada for ''Ganda Hendt ...

Early life

Kovelamudi Bapayya was born in Hyderabad. He is also known as K. Bapayya. Bapayya lost both his parents at a very young age. He was raised by his paternal uncle

, who was a popular filmmaker. He is a first cousin of K. Raghavendra Rao, also a filmmaker. He also has two daughters, Padma and Chamundeswari. Bapayya studied in Vijayawada and Chennai.

Career

Bapayya began his film career by working under

K. B. Tilak Korlipara Balagangadhara Tilak (14 January 1926 – 23 September 2010), popularly known as K. B. Tilak, was an Indian independence activist, film director and producer. Early life He was born at Denduluru in West Godavari district, Andhra P ...

as an apprentice for the films ''

Muddu Bidda ''Muddu Bidda'' () is a 1956 Telugu-language drama film directed and produced by K. B. Tilak. It is a debut film for Tilak under the banner Anupama Films. It is remade into the Hindi language as ''Chhoti Bahu'' in 1971, directed by K. B. Tilak ...

'' (1956), ''M. L. A.'' (1957), and ''Attaa Okinti Kodale'' (1958). He then worked for

Suresh Productions Suresh Productions (also known as Suresh Movies, Vijaya Suresh Combines) is an Indian film production and distribution company known for its works in Telugu cinema. It is established in 1964 by D. Ramanaidu. It is one of India's largest film p ...

with Tapi Chanakya for the production's debut film ''

Ramudu Bheemudu ''Ramudu Bheemudu'' is a 1964 Indian Telugu-language film, produced by D. Ramanaidu under the Suresh Productions banner and directed by Tapi Chanakya. It stars N. T. Rama Rao, Jamuna and L. Vijayalakshmi , with music composed by Pendyala. Th ...

'' in 1964. Bapayya made his directorial debut in the Tollywood film industry with the feature film ''Drohi'' in 1970. He was given the offer to direct the film by producer

D. Rama Naidu Daggubati Ramanaidu (6 June 1936 – 18 February 2015) was an Indian film producer known for his work in Telugu cinema. He founded Suresh Productions in 1964 which became of one of the largest film production companies in India. He was placed i ...

. The film had Vanisri and Kongara Jaggaya playing the lead characters. The film that truly earned Bapayya name and fame in the Telugu film industry was the drama feature film '' Soggadu'' (1975). The Telugu film hit the silver screens on 19 December 1975 and was released again on 1 January 1976. It starred Sobhan Babu, Jayachitra and Jayasudha In the lead roles. The movie won two Filmfare awards. The drama film ran in 17 cinema halls in the then united Andhra Pradesh for one hundred days. Bapayya made his directorial debut in the Bollywood film industry with the Hindi movie ''Dildaar'' (1977). Dildaar was a remake of Bapayya's Soggadu. The Bollywood film hit the big screens on 13 April 1977. It starred Jeetendra, Rekha and Nazneen in lead roles. Bapayya remained active in the film industry till the mid 1990s. Towards the end of his career, Bapayya started focusing on making Bollywood films. One of his blockbusters from the 1990s was ''Pyar Hua Chori Chori'' (1991). The romance film hit the theatre halls on 7 June 1991. The film starred Mithun Chakraborty, Gautami, Shikha Swaroop, Shafi Inamdaari, Shakti Kapoor and Anupam Kher. It was Gautami's Hindi debut and a remake of the Malayalam flick Chithram. He also directed ''Parda Hai Parda'' (1992) which is remembered as Chunkey Pandey's solo hit and South Indian actress Meena's debut in the Bollywood film industry. The movie hit the screens on 10 July 1992. Bapayya was known to collaborate with Jeetendra and Mithun Chakraborty in the Bollywood industry.

Filmography

References

External links

* Year of birth missing (living people) Telugu film directors Hindi-language film directors Living people Film directors from Andhra Pradesh People from Krishna district 20th-century Indian film directors {{India-film-director-stub