Bokkala Kishore Kumar (born 19 September 1977), known professionally as Vennela Kishore, is an Indian actor and director who works 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 ...

-language films. Known for his comic roles, he was given the moniker "Vennela" after his first feature film ''

Vennela ''Vennela'' ( en, Moonlight) is a 2005 Telugu romantic comedy film written and directed by Deva Katta, starring Raja and Parvati Melton as well as Sharwanand and Ravi Varma. ''Vennela'' was well received among the young, urban audiences and s ...

'' (2005). He is a recipient of two

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 ...

, two

SIIMA Awards South Indian International Movie Awards, also known as the SIIMA Awards, rewards the artistic and technical achievements of the South Indian film industry. It was launched in 2012 by Vishnu Vardhan Induri and Brinda Prasad Adusimilli to appreci ...

and one

IIFA Utsavam The annual IIFA Utsavam rewards the artistic and technical achievements of the South Indian film industry. The ceremony is organised by Wizcraft International, the team behind the IIFA Awards, and represents Tamil cinema, Telugu cinema, Malay ...

Award.

Early life

Kishore was born and brought up in

Kamareddy Kamareddy is a town and headquarters of eponymous district in Telangana state in India. It is located about north of the state capital Hyderabad, from Nizamabad and from Karimnagar. Geography Kamareddy is located at . It covers an area ...

of present-day

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian subcontinent, Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India b ...

. He moved to

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

for graduation and then emigrated to the US for higher studies. Kishore completed his master's degree in

Ferris State University Ferris State University (FSU or Ferris) is a public university with its main campus in Big Rapids, Michigan. It was founded in 1884 and became a public institution in 1950. Ferris is the ninth-largest institutions of higher education by enroll ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

and started as a software engineer.

Career

During his stay in the U.S., Kishore got an opportunity to work in

Deva Katta Deva Katta is an Indian American film director and screenwriter who works in Telugu cinema. He directed cult classic Telugu movies such as ''Vennela'' (2005), ''Prasthanam'' (2010), ''Autonagar Surya'' (2014) and ''Republic (film)'' (2021). In ...

's directorial ''

'' (2005) which marked his entry to the film industry. Kishore received appreciation for his role "Akella Vigneswara Rao" in the film '' DJ''. His other performances include '' Bindaas'', ''

Pilla Zamindar ''Pilla Zamindar'' () is a 2011 Indian Telugu-language coming-of-age comedy drama film written and directed by G. Ashok. The film stars Nani, Haripriya, and Bindu Madhavi while Srinivas Avasarala, Dhanraj, Thagubothu Ramesh, Rao Ramesh and N ...

'', ''

Daruvu ''Daruvu: Sound Of Mass'' is a 2012 Indian Telugu-language fantasy action comedy film written and directed by Siva, produced by Burugupalli Siva Rama Krishna under Sri Venkateswara Entertainments banner and starring Ravi Teja and Taapsee in le ...

'', ''

Sarkaru Vaari Paata ''Sarkaru Vaari Paata'' () is a 2022 Indian Telugu-language action drama film written and directed by Parasuram. It is produced by Mythri Movie Makers, 14 Reels Plus and G. Mahesh Babu Entertainment and stars Mahesh Babu, Keerthy Suresh and ...

'', '' Badshah'', ''

Doosukeltha ''Doosukeltha'' () is a 2013 Indian Telugu-language action comedy film directed by Veeru Potla. It stars Manchu Vishnu and Lavanya Tripathi. Mani Sharma composed the music for the film. Mohan Babu produced the film under the banner of 24 Fr ...

'', '' Pandaga Chesko'', ''

Goodachari ''Goodachari'' () is a 2018 Indian Telugu-language action spy thriller film directed by Sashi Kiran Tikka. The film stars Adivi Sesh, Sobhita Dhulipala, and Jagapathi Babu with Prakash Raj, Supriya Yarlagadda, Vennela Kishore, Anish Kuruvi ...

'', ''

S/O Satyamurthy ''S/O Satyamurthy'' (read as ''Son of Satyamurthy'') is a 2015 Indian Telugu-language action drama film written and directed by Trivikram Srinivas and produced by S. Radha Krishna for Haarika & Haasine Creations. The film stars Allu Arjun, ...

'', ''

Srimanthudu ''Srimanthudu'' () is a 2015 Indian Telugu-language action drama film written and directed by Koratala Siva. The film is produced by Mythri Movie Makers and G. Mahesh Babu Entertainment. The film stars Mahesh Babu, Shruti Haasan, Jagapati ...

'', '' Bale Bale Magadivoy'', ''

Ekkadiki Pothavu Chinnavada ''Ekkadiki Pothavu Chinnavada'' is a 2016 Telugu-language supernatural romantic thriller film written and directed by Vi Anand and produced by P. V. Rao. It stars Nikhil Siddharth, Hebah Patel, Nandita Swetha and Avika Gor Avika Gor (bor ...

'', and '' Ami Thumi''. He also directed two Telugu films ('' Vennela 1½'', and ''Jaffa''). After tasting failure with his directorial projects, he has returned to acting.

Filmography

As an actor

As a director

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kishore, Vennela Living people Male actors from Telangana Indian male comedians Male actors in Telugu cinema Indian male film actors Telugu comedians 21st-century Indian male actors 1980 births People from Nizamabad, Telangana Ferris State University alumni South Indian International Movie Awards winners Santosham Film Awards winners Nandi Award winners International Indian Film Academy Awards winners