Siva Nageswara Rao is an Indian film director and screenwriter who 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, Hy ...

. He is especially known for his work in

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

s. His notable films include ''Money'' (1993), ''Money Money'' (1994), ''

Lucky Chance ''Lucky Chance'' is a 1994 Telugu-language comedy film, produced by C. Sarath Babu under the Sri Madhav Arts banner and directed by Siva Nageswara Rao. It stars Rajendra Prasad, Kanchan and music composed by Sri. The film was inspired by the 1 ...

'' (1994), ''

Sisindri ''Sisindri'' is a 1995 Indian Telugu-language comedy film directed by Siva Nageswara Rao and produced by Nagarjuna. The film stars Nagarjuna's son Akhil Akkineni (in his debut). Nagarjuna, Giri Babu, Tanikella Bharani, Sudhakar, Aamani, Sarath ...

'' (1995), ''Pattukondi Chooddaam'' (1997), ''Hands Up!'' (2000), ''

Dhanalakshmi, I Love You ''Dhanalakshmi, I Love You'' is a 2002 Indian Telugu-language comedy film directed by Siva Nageswara Rao and starring Allari Naresh, Aditya Om, Naresh, and Ankitha. It is based on the Malayalam film '' Ramji Rao Speaking'' (1989). Cast * ...

'' (2002), ''

Mr & Mrs Sailaja Krishnamurthy ''Mr & Mrs Sailaja Krishnamurthy'' is a 2004 Indian Telugu-language romantic drama film which stars Sivaji, Laila, and Dharmavarapu Subramanyam. This film was directed by director Siva Nageswara Rao. The film was a box office success.https:// ...

'' (2004), ''Bhookailas'' (2007).

Early life

Siva Nageswara Rao was born and brought up in Uppalapadu near

Guntur Guntur () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Guntur district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Guntur is spread across 168.49 km square and is the third-largest city in the state. It is situated to the west of the Ba ...

. He was fascinated by films from childhood. He did his graduation from

Hindu College Hindu College may refers to several colleges around the world, including: India *Dharmamurthi Rao Bhahadur Calavala Cunnan Chetty's Hindu College, Chennai, Tamil Nadu * Gobardanga Hindu College, West Bengal * Gokul Das Hindu Girls College, Moradab ...

in Guntur.

Career

He went to

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

to join

Telugu film industry 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 ...

in 1979 at the age of 23. He struggled there for six months. In order to earn daily living, he acted in films like ''Burripalem Bullodu'' and ''Sannayi Appanna'' as unofficial

junior artist A background actor or extra is a performer in a film, television show, stage, musical, opera, or ballet production who appears in a nonspeaking or nonsinging (silent) capacity, usually in the background (for example, in an audience or busy street ...

. He joined as an assistant director to

Vijaya Nirmala Vijaya Nirmala (born Nidudavolu Nirmala; 20 February 1946 – 27 June 2019) was an Indian actress, director, and producer known for her works predominantly in Telugu cinema along with a few Malayalam and Tamil films. In a career spanning over si ...

and worked under her for the films ''Antham Kaadidi Aarambham'', ''

Doctor Cine Actor ''Doctor Cine Actor'' is a 1982 Indian Telugu-language comedy drama film directed by Vijaya Nirmala. Produced by Nara Naryana Combines, it stars Krishna in a triple role alongside Jayasudha and Kavitha. The film has music composed by K. Cha ...

'' (1982) etc. Later he worked with V. Madhusudhana Rao for ''Jagannatha Ratha Chakraalu'', with Lenin Babu for ''Maro Kurukshetram'', with S. A. Chandrasekhar for '' Devanthakudu'' (1984), ''Balidaanam'', ''Intiko Rudramma.'' Then he started working for

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 Fil ...

with ''Swathi'' (1984) and was a part of his direction team for six years. He met

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 Bollywood, Hindi, Kannada cinema, Kannada language ...

during the making of the film ''Rao Gaari Illu'' (1988) on which both Varma and Siva Nageswara Rao workrd as assistant directors. While doing that film, Varma asked him to work as an assistant director in ''Siva'' (1989) to which he agreed. Siva Nageswara Rao's debut film as a director was ''Money'' (1993) and was produced by Ram Gopal Varma.

Filmography

;Director * ''Money'' (1993) * ''One by Two'' (1993) * ''

'' (1994) * ''Money Money'' (1994) * ''

'' (1995) * ''Once More'' (1996) * ''Pattukondi Chooddaam'' (1997) * ''O Panaipotundi Baboo...!'' (1999) * ''Hands Up!'' (2000) * ''Ramana'' (2002) * ''

'' (2002) * ''

'' (2004) * ''Photo'' (2006) * ''Bhookailas'' (2007) * ''

Ninnu Kalisaka '' Ninnu Kalisaka'' () is a 2009 Indian Telugu-language romance film produced by Ramoji Rao on Ushakiran Movies banner and directed by Siva Nageswara Rao. It stars Santosh Samrat, Chaitanya Krishna, Dipa Shah, Piaa Bajpai, and the music is co ...

'' (2009) * ''Over Action'' (2016) * ''Dochevaarevarura'' (2022) ;Actor * ''

'' (2009)

Awards

* Won

Nandi Award for Best First Film of a Director The Nandi Award for Best Debut Director winners since 1981:(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 languag ...

- ''Money'' (1993)(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 ...

)

References

External links

* Living people Film directors from Andhra Pradesh Telugu film directors People from Guntur district 1960 births 20th-century Indian film directors 21st-century Indian film directors Nandi Award winners Indian film directors {{India-film-director-stub