Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K., collectively known as Raj & DK, are an Indian screenwriter, director and producer duo. They are best known for their offbeat work in
Streaming television
Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as TV shows, as streaming media delivered over the Internet. Streaming television stands in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air aer ...
,
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 ...
, and
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, Hy ...
. The duo created produced, and directed the
Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming and Renting, rental service of Amazon (c ...
series ''
The Family Man
''The Family Man'' is a 2000 American romantic fantasy comedy-drama film directed by Brett Ratner, from a screenplay by David Diamond and David Weissman. The film stars Nicolas Cage and Téa Leoni, with Don Cheadle, Saul Rubinek, and Jeremy ...
'' (2019), ''
Glitch
A glitch is a short-lived fault in a system, such as a transient fault that corrects itself, making it difficult to troubleshoot. The term is particularly common in the computing and electronics industries, in circuit bending, as well as among ...
'' (2020); ''
Farzi
''Farzi'' () is an Indian Hindi-language black comedy crime thriller television series created, produced and directed by Raj & DK, who also co-wrote the series with Sita Menon and Suman Kumar. It stars Shahid Kapoor, Vijay Sethupathi, Kay Kay ...
'' (2023) and the
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
series ''
Guns & Gulaabs
''Guns & Gulaabs'' is an upcoming 2023 Indian Hindi-language comedy crime thriller streaming television series on Netflix created and directed by Raj & DK. Produced under the banner D2R Films in collaboration with Netflix, the series stars Rajku ...
'' (2023).
They scripted, produced, and directed mainstream films such as ''
99'' (2009), ''
Shor In The City
''Shor in the City'' () is a 2011 Indian Hindi-language crime drama film directed by Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K., and produced by Ekta Kapoor and Shobha Kapoor starring Tusshar Kapoor, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Preeti Desai, Girija Oak, Radhika ...
'' (2011), ''
Go Goa Gone
''Go Goa Gone'' is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language zombie action comedy film directed by Raj and D.K. The film features Saif Ali Khan, Kunal Khemu, Vir Das, Anand Tiwari and Puja Gupta. It was released on 10 May 2013. Almost one third of the film ...
'' (2013), ''
Happy Ending
A happy ending is an ending of the plot of a work of fiction in which almost everything turns out for the best for the main protagonists and their sidekicks, while the main villains/antagonists are dead/defeated.
In storylines where the protagon ...
'' (2014), ''
A Gentleman
''A Gentleman: Sundar, Susheel, Risky'' is a 2017 Indian Hindi-language action film written and directed by Raj & DK. The film stars Sidharth Malhotra in a dual role with Jacqueline Fernandez and Suniel Shetty. Upon release, it was a critical ...
'' (2017), ''
Stree'' (2018), and ''
Cinema Bandi
''Cinema Bandi'' () is a 2021 Indian Telugu-language Neo-noir dramedy film directed by debutant Praveen Kandregula. Produced by Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K., the film features several debutant actors. Set in a village near the Andhra–Karnat ...
'' (2021) which won the
Jury Special Mention at the
53rd IFFI.
Early life
Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K. were born and brought up in
Tirupati
Tirupati () is a city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Tirupati district. The city is home to the important Hindu shrine of Tirumala Venkateswara Temple and other historic temples and is refe ...
and
Chittoor
Chittoor is a city and district headquarters in Chittoor district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is also the mandal and divisional headquarters of Chittoor mandal and Chittoor revenue division, respectively. The city has a popul ...
,
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
, respectively. Their mother tongue is
Telugu. They both graduated from
SVU College of Engineering, where they also met. After graduation, they emigrated to the U.S. to pursue a career in software engineering.
Career
Raj & DK's worked on the short ''Shaadi.com'' (2002) before working on the English-language feature film ''
Flavors
Flavor or flavour is either the sensory perception of taste or smell, or a flavoring in food that produces such perception.
Flavor or flavour may also refer to:
Science
*Flavors (programming language), an early object-oriented extension to Lis ...
'' (2003) about Indian immigrants. Their first Hindi feature film, ''
99'', was an original crime-comic-thriller-historical-fiction set in Mumbai and Delhi. The New York Times called it "funny, inventive, refreshing"; Box Office magazine (USA) acclaimed that the film "sets new standards in Hindi cinema!"; and a number of Indian publications gave it four star reviews. Rediff.com gave the film 4 stars and told the viewers that "they will leave the theater laughing and entertained." Indiatimes gave it 3.5 stars.
Their next, ''
Shor in the City
''Shor in the City'' () is a 2011 Indian Hindi-language crime drama film directed by Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K., and produced by Ekta Kapoor and Shobha Kapoor starring Tusshar Kapoor, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Preeti Desai, Girija Oak, Radhika ...
'', was the acclaimed Hindi film of the year. It has received glowing reviews from across media publications. The film was made at a micro-budget, making it profitable even before the film's release. The film was also selected to various high-profile film festivals across the world. Nikhat Kazmi of ''
The Times of India
''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...
'' awarded it four stars out of five and stated "With a zany screenplay (Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK), excellent cinematography by Tushar Kanti Ray and peppy music by Sachin-Jigar, ''Shor in the City'' is another breaking-norm film from Ekta Kapoor".
Taran Adarsh
Taran Adarsh (born 13 June 1965) is an Indian film critic and trade analyst. He is best known for giving trade figures and box office updates on social media.
Career
Taran Adarsh started his journalism career at the age of 15 with ''Trade Gui ...
of
Bollywood Hungama
Bollywood Hungama (lit. "Bollywood Madness" in Hindi), previously known as IndiaFM (or IndiaFM.com), is a Bollywood entertainment website, owned by Hungama Digital Media Entertainment, which acquired the website in 2000.
The website provides ...
gave it three and a half stars and wrote "''Shor in the City'' belongs to one of those rare categories of movies with sensibilities that would not only entice the festival crowd and the cinema literate, but also lure the ardent moviegoer." Aniruddha Guha of the ''
Daily News and Analysis
Publications established in 2005
Newspapers published in Mumbai
English-language newspapers published in India
Daily newspapers published in India
Essel Group
2005 establishments in Maharashtra ...
'' gave it three stars and said "''Shor in the City'' is the kind of reassuring film you yearn to watch amid, well, what 'Bollywood' has to offer every week. Also, it articulates something you have only probably thought before – 'Karma IS a bitch.'"
Rajeev Masand
Rajeev Masand is an Indian film critic and journalist. He has worked for Noida based English language news channel CNN-Indian Broadcasting Network (CNN-IBN). He usually reviews Bollywood films and major Hollywood films released in India in hi ...
of
CNN-IBN
CNN-News18 (originally CNN-IBN) is an Indian English-language news television channel founded by Raghav Bahl based in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is currently co-owned by Network18 Group and Warner Bros. Discovery. CNN provides internationa ...
awarded three and a half stars saying "A delicious mix of quirky humor, gruesome violence, and surprising sensitivity, ''Shor in the City'' works on the strength of its smart script and consistent performances from its ensemble cast."
Rediff
Rediff.com (stylized as ''rediff.com'') is an Indian news, information, entertainment and shopping web portal. It was founded in 1996. It is headquartered in Mumbai, with offices in Bangalore, New Delhi and New York City.
, it had more than 300 e ...
awarded the film four stars and said "Raj-Krishna's Shor in the City robotically registers itself in Indian cinema's history."
Anupama Chopra
Anupama Chopra () is an Indian author, journalist, film critic and director of the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival. She is also the founder and editor of the digital platform Film Companion, which offers a curated look at cinema. She has written sev ...
of
NDTV
New Delhi Television Ltd is an Indian news media company focusing on broadcast and digital news publication. The company is considered to be a legacy brand that pioneered independent news broadcasting in India, and is credited for launching t ...
gave the movie four stars and wrote "''Shor in the City'' is a terrific film. It’s surprising and disturbing and has a vein of rich, dark humor coursing through it." Shubhra Gupta of the ''
Indian Express
''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split betw ...
'' gave it a three star rating and commented "What makes ''Shor in the City'' an instant clutter-breaker is its darkly comic treatment. It makes you smile because its humour comes from within. It’s not grafted. And it’s got heart : we feel for the characters." Tushar Joshi of
MiD DAY
''Mid-Day'' (stylised as mid-day) is a morning daily Indian compact newspaper owned by Jagran Prakashan Limited. Editions in various languages were published in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Pune. In 2011, the Delhi and Bangalore editions were ...
gave it a four star rating and wrote "Loaded with humor, sarcasm and wit. That truly is the beauty of the makers who succeed in arresting you with their tales. The spectacular climax is easily one of the best written in recent times."
Karan Anshuman
Karan Anshuman (born 1980) is an Indian film writer, director, and producer. He is the creator and director of Emmy-nominated drama film '' Inside Edge''. He is also the director and writer of ''Bangistan'' and the creator, director, and writer ...
of
Mumbai Mirror
The ''Mumbai Mirror'' is an Indian English-language newspaper published in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Launched in 2005 as a compact daily newspaper, its coverage focuses on city specific local news and civic issues concerning education, healthcare an ...
gave it a four star rating, saying "Three stories, eleven days, myriad layers, believable characters, fine performances, spirited direction, taut script, momentary explosions of originality."
Several years later, they came back with ''
Go Goa Gone
''Go Goa Gone'' is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language zombie action comedy film directed by Raj and D.K. The film features Saif Ali Khan, Kunal Khemu, Vir Das, Anand Tiwari and Puja Gupta. It was released on 10 May 2013. Almost one third of the film ...
'', which was a clutter-breaking film that introduced to India the first of its kind of a genre-bending film - a stoner/slacker comedy combined with horror and comedy. It became a cult film, especially among the younger audience.
In 2021, they started subsidiary of their production company, D2R Indie to produce indie films. The first project produced under the banner was the 2021 Telugu film ''
Cinema Bandi
''Cinema Bandi'' () is a 2021 Indian Telugu-language Neo-noir dramedy film directed by debutant Praveen Kandregula. Produced by Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K., the film features several debutant actors. Set in a village near the Andhra–Karnat ...
'' by debutant director
Praveen Kandregula
''Cinema Bandi'' () is a 2021 Indian Telugu-language Neo-noir dramedy film directed by debutant Praveen Kandregula. Produced by Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K., the film features several debutant actors. Set in a village near the Andhra–Karnatak ...
. It received positive response from critics and audience. LetsOTT cited the film as "an utterly delectable, charming, that rises a toast to the magic of cinema." Another reviewer writing to
''NTV'', stated "''Cinema Bandi'' toys with themes like hope and redemption. While the premise is heart-warming, the treatment could have been way better." Ramnath Nandini of ''
Scroll.in
''Scroll.in'', simply referred to as ''Scroll'', is an Indian digital news publication owned by the Scroll Media Incorporation. It publishes content in both Hindi and English languages. Founded in 2014, the website and its journalists have won ...
'' wrote that "the
ilm Ilm or ILM may refer to:
Acronyms
* Identity Lifecycle Manager, a Microsoft Server Product
* ''I Love Money,'' a TV show on VH1
* Independent Loading Mechanism, a mounting system for CPU sockets
* Industrial Light & Magic, an American motion pic ...
has a winning set-up, oodles of heart and snarky humour, which compensate for the unstructured and rambling narrative and simplistic approach." Gautaman Bhaskaran of ''
News18
Network18 Media & Investments Limited, (formerly SGA Finance and Management Service and Network18 Fincap Limited) commonly referred to as the Network18 Group and sometimes as the Network18–Eenadu Group, is an Indian media conglomerate owned b ...
'' agave a rating of 2.5/5 and wrote that "Cinema Bandi has a very interesting message about how video cameras have afforded splendid opportunities for especially short moviemakers, the film appears rather raw." ''
Hindustan Times
''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia.
It was founded by Sunder Singh Lyall ...
''s Haricharan Pudipeddi said that the film is rooted in reality and it brims with the kind of energy we rarely witness in mainstream cinema.
They have also signed for the Indian segment of ''
Citadel
A citadel is the core fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of "city", meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core.
In ...
'' by
Russo Brothers
Anthony Russo (born February 3, 1970) and Joseph Russo (born July 18, 1971), collectively known as the Russo brothers (), are American directors, producers, and screenwriters. They direct most of their work together. They are best known for dir ...
whose production is expected to begin in 2022. More recently, they signed a multi-year deal with
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
.
Filmography
Film
Web series
Awards
;
Filmfare OTT Awards
The Filmfare OTT Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language original programming over-the-top space. The first edition of the awards were held on 19 December 2020. It included films and web seri ...
* Best Series (Critics) - The Family Man
* Best Director (Critics) - Raj & DK (The Family Man)
* Best Dialogues (Critics) - Raj & DK, Suman Kumar, Sumit Arora (The Family Man)
;
Star Screen Awards
The Screen Awards is an annual awards ceremony held in India honouring professional excellence in Bollywood. The nomination and award selection is done by a panel of distinguished professionals from the industry. The awards were introduced by t ...
* Best Film 2018 -
Stree
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK
Indian filmmaking duos
Indian screenwriting duos
Living people
Film directors from Andhra Pradesh
Telugu film directors
20th-century births
Hindi-language film directors
Indian emigrants to the United States
Telugu film producers
Year of birth missing (living people)
21st-century Indian film directors
People from Chittoor district
Film producers from Andhra Pradesh