Prakash Rao Kovelamudi is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and actor known for his works in alternative cinema, across various languages. He is known for works such as

Morning Raga ''Morning Raga'' is a 2004 Indian 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 Dubey and Nassar. The fi ...

(2004), with which he made his

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

acting debut. He then directed '' Bommalata'' (2004), which received Best Film in Telugu at the 53rd National Film Awards, the

fantasy film Fantasy films are films that belong to the fantasy genre with fantastic themes, usually magic, supernatural events, mythology, folklore, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered a form of speculative fiction alongside science fiction f ...

, ''

Anaganaga O Dheerudu ''Once Upon a time there was 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 Pictures with veteran director K. Raghaven ...

'' (2011), and the

black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...

, ''

Judgementall Hai Kya ''Judgementall Hai Kya'' () is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language black comedy film directed by Prakash Kovelamudi, with screenplay by Kanika Dhillon starring Kangana Ranaut and Rajkummar Rao, produced by Ekta Kapoor, the film was theatrically release ...

'' (2019). An alumnus of the

Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute (originally the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute) is an acting school founded in 1969 by actor, director, and acting teacher Lee Strasberg. The Institute is located in Union Square on East 15th Street, a ...

, Prakash is the son of veteran director

K. Raghavendra Rao Kovelamudi Raghavendra Rao (born 23 May 1942) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema besides having directed a few Hindi films. He has garnered four state Nandi Awards and fiv ...

and grandson of

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 ...

Film career

Kovelamudi made his acting debut with the

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 ...

-language movie ''

Neetho ''Neetho'' is a 2002 Telugu romance film directed by John Mahendran, starring Prakash Kovelamudi and Mahek Chahal in their debut roles. The film marked the debut of K. Raghavendra Rao's son Prakash Kovelamudi (Suryaprakash). Despite the film's f ...

''. He was set to act in a fantasy film directed by Rajamouli but the film was later shelved. He also appeared in ''

''. The films under his directorial belt include '' Bommalata'' (A belly full of dreams) and the Telugu fantasy film ''

'', distributed by

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, formerly known as Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, Inc. until 2007, is an American film distribution studio within the Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. It ha ...

. He also directed the film ''

Size Zero Size zero or size 0 is a women's clothing size in the US catalog sizes system. Size 0 and 00 were invented due to the changing of clothing sizes over time (referred to as vanity sizing or size inflation), which has caused the adoption of lower nu ...

'', which is also known as ''Inji Iduppazhagi'', starring

Arya Aryan or Arya (, Indo-Iranian *''arya'') is a term originally used as an ethnocultural self-designation by Indo-Iranians in ancient times, in contrast to the nearby outsiders known as 'non-Aryan' (*''an-arya''). In Ancient India, the term ' ...

and

Anushka Shetty Sweety Shetty (born 7 November 1981), known by her stage name Anushka Shetty, is an Indian actress and model who predominantly works in Telugu and Tamil films. She is the recipient of Three Filmfare Awards South, Two Nandi Award, and One Tamil ...

. His most recent film is Judgemental Hai Kya, a black comedy which addresses mental health issues.

Personal life

Kovelamudi married

Kanika Dhillon Kanika Dhillon is an Indian author and screenwriter. As an author, she has released three novels, ''Bombay Duck is a Fish'' (2011), a satire on the Indian film industry, the young adult superhero novel ''Shiva and the Rise of the Shadows'' (201 ...

in 2014 and the couple divorced in 2017.

Filmography

*''All films are in Telugu unless otherwise noted.''

Awards

National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu The National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu 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 ...

- '' Bommalata'' (playing with toys) - 2006

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kovelamudi, Prakash Living people Telugu-language writers Indian male screenwriters Indian male dramatists and playwrights Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute alumni Telugu film directors Film directors from Hyderabad, India 1975 births Telugu screenwriters Male actors in Telugu cinema Indian male film actors Male actors from Hyderabad, India Screenwriters from Hyderabad, India