Koduri Viswa Vijayendra Prasad is an Indian screenwriter and film director who predominantly 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, ...

. He also worked in a few

Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

, and

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

films. His filmography consists of more than twenty five films as a screenwriter, most of which were commercially successful. His notable work as a screenwriter includes films like the ''Baahubali'' series'','' ''

RRR RRR may refer to: Art and entertainment * ''RRR'' (film), an Indian Telugu film Industry film ** ''RRR'' (soundtrack), soundtrack album of the film of the same name * RRRecords, a record label * '' Roots Rock Riot'', a 2007 album by Skindred * ...

'' (2022), ''

Bajrangi Bhaijaan ''Bajrangi Bhaijaan'' () is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language comedy-drama film co-written and directed by Kabir Khan, based on an original story by screenwriter V. Vijayendra Prasad, and produced by Salman Khan, Rockline Venkatesh and Kabir Kha ...

'' (2015), '' Manikarnika'' (2019), ''

Magadheera ''Magadheera'' () is a 2009 Indian Telugu-language fantasy action film directed by S. S. Rajamouli and produced by Allu Aravind's Geetha Arts, on a story by V. Vijayendra Prasad. The film stars Ram Charan, Srihari, Kajal Aggarwal and Dev Gil ...

'' (2009), and ''Mersal'' (2017). In 2011, he directed the Telugu film ''

Rajanna ''Rajanna'' is a 2011 Indian Telugu-language period action film written and directed by V. Vijayendra Prasad. The film is produced by Nagarjuna, and starred him, Sneha and child artist Baby Annie. The film is partially inspired by Razakar mo ...

'', which won the

Nandi Award for Best Feature Film This is the list of winners of the Nandi Award for Best Feature Films since 1964. Best Feature Film - Gold Second Best Feature Film - Silver Third Best Feature Film - Bronze References See also * Cinema of Andhra Pradesh {{DEFAULTSORT:Na ...

. In 2016, he won the Filmfare Award for Best Story for the film ''

.'' His upcoming films include ''1770'', ''Sita: The Incarnation, Aparaajitha Ayodhya, Pawan Putra Bhaijaan,'' and ''Vikramarkudu 2.'' On 6 July 2022, President of India

Ram Nath Kovind Ram Nath Kovind (; born 1 October 1945) is an Indian politician who served as the 14th President of India from 2017 to 2022. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He is the second person after K. R. Narayanan, from the Dalit community ...

nominated him as a member of

Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...

, the

upper house An upper house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restric ...

Indian Parliament The Parliament of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the ...

Early life

He was born as Koduri Viswa Vijayendra Prasad. He hails from

Kovvur Kovvur is a town in East Godavari district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipality and the mandal headquarters of Kovvur mandal in Kovvur revenue division. Etymology This Town was earlier referred as ''Govur''. Accordin ...

near

Rajahmundry Rajahmundry, officially known as Rajamahendravaram, is a city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and District headquarters of East Godavari district. It is the sixth most populated city in the state. During British rule, the District of Rajah ...

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 ...

. He studied at Sir C.R. Reddy College in Eluru. His elder brother is

Siva Shakthi Datta Koduri Siva Shakthi Datta (born Koduri Subba Rao; 8 October 1932), is an Indian lyricist, screenwriter, and painter who works in Telugu cinema. He is known for writing Sanskrit-based song lyrics in Telugu films. He is the elder brother of scree ...

, a

lyricist A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's incom ...

, screenwriter, and a painter. Prasad's family had lands in Kovvur which were lost when the railways lines went most through them. Then, Prasad moved to Karnataka from Kovvur in 1968. He, along with his elder brother K. V. Sivashankar, bought seven acres of paddy fields in

Hirekotikal Hire Kotnekal is a village in the Manvi taluk of Raichur district in the Indian state of Karnataka.Village code= 533700 Hire Kotankal, Raichur, Karnataka Hire Kotnekal is located west to Manvi town. Hire Kotnekal lies on road connecting Manvi an ...

village of Manvi Taluk in

Raichur district Raichur District is an administrative district in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located in the northeast part of the state and is bounded by Yadgir district in the north, Bijapur and Bagalkot district in the northwest, Koppal district ...

. Their family moved back to Kovvur in 1977. He also ventured into various businesses which ended up as losses.

Career

His brother Siva Shakthi Datta's passion for films made Vijayendra Prasad and his family to shift to Madras. Datta assisted a couple of directors for some time and started a film titled ''Pillanagrovi'' which was stopped midway due to financial reasons. As his brother was already in the film industry, Prasad started assisting his brother. Prasad got introduced to

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 ...

through Samatha Arts’ Mukherjee who was a friend of his. Raghavendra Rao started giving him and Datta small assignments. They got their first break with ''

Janaki Ramudu ''Janaki Ramudu'' is a 1988 Indian Telugu-language film directed by K. Raghavendra Rao and produced by K. Murari under Yuva Chitra Arts. The film stars Nagarjuna, Vijayashanti and Jeevitha, with music composed by K. V. Mahadevan. It was dubb ...

'' (1988) which became successful at the box office. Next, he wrote the film ''

Bangaru Kutumbam ''Bangaru Kutumbam'' ( ''Golden Family'') is a 1994 Telugu-language drama film, produced by Kaikala Nageswara Rao under the Ramaa Films banner, presented by Satyanarayana and directed by Dasari Narayana Rao. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao an ...

'' (1994) which won the Nandi Award for Best Film. His next film was ''

Bobbili Simham '' Bobbili Simham'' () is a 1994 Telugu-language action drama film, produced by Trivikram Rao under the Vijayalakshmi Art Pictures banner and directed by A. Kodandarami Reddy. It stars Nandamuri Balakrishna, Roja, Meena, and music composed by M ...

'' (1994) which was commercially successful and earned Prasad recognition as a screenwriter. He later provided the story for ''

Samarasimha Reddy ''Samarasimha Reddy'' is a 1999 Indian Telugu-language action drama film, produced by Chengala Venkat Rao under Satyanarayanamma Productions banner and directed by B. Gopal. It stars Nandamuri Balakrishna in the titular role alongside Anjala ...

'' (1999) which became one of the biggest hits of the time in

Personal life

Prasad has two children—a daughter and a son. His son

S. S. Rajamouli Koduri Srisaila Sri Rajamouli ( ; born 10 October 1973) is an Indian film director and screenwriter who primarily works in Telugu cinema. He is the highest paid director in India, and is known for his action, fantasy, and epic genre films. T ...

is a filmmaker. Prasad is uncle to music composers M. M. Keeravani,

M. M. Srilekha M. M. Srilekha (born Koduri Srilekha) is an Indian film playback singer and music composer, known for her works predominantly in Telugu cinema. She is the only female music composer in the Telugu film industry. Her paternal uncle V. Vijayendra ...

, and

Kalyani Malik Kalyani Malik is an Indian music director and playback singer in Telugu cinema. Since achieving recognition through Chandra Sekhar Yeleti's film '' Aithe'' (2003), Malik has provided musical scores for many other films. His most recent works ar ...

. He dropped ‘K’ from his name, K. V. Vijayendra Prasad as he felt it was an indicator of his caste. Prasad cited the screenwriting duo

Salim–Javed Salim–Javed were an Indian screenwriting duo, composed of Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, working in Bollywood. They are noted for being the first Indian screenwriters to achieve star status, becoming the most successful Indian screenwriters ...

(

Salim Khan Salim Abdul Rashid Khan (born 24 November 1935) is an Indian actor, film producer and screenwriter. As a screenwriter, he wrote the screenplays, stories and scripts for numerous Bollywood films. Khan is one half of the prolific screenwriting d ...

and Javed Akhtar) as a major inspiration on his work, especially their screenplay for ''

Sholay ''Sholay'' (, ) is a 1975 Indian Hindi-language action-adventure film directed by Ramesh Sippy, produced by his father G. P. Sippy, and written by Salim–Javed. The film is about two criminals, Veeru (Dharmendra) and Jai (Amitabh Bachchan) ...

'' (1975), among other films. On July 6, 2022, BJP led Indian government nominated Prasad to the

Awards

Nandi Awards

– ''

Filmfare Awards 2016

Best Story – ''

Sony Guild Awards 2016

Best Story – ''Bajrangi Bhaijaan''

The Iconic Trade Achiever of the Year

The Iconic Trade Achiever of the Year – 2015 Award from Indywood Film Market

Filmography

Films

;Director ;Writer *''

'' (1988) *''

'' (1994) *''

Gharana Bullodu ''Gharana Bullodu'' () is a 1995 Telugu-language film directed by K. Raghavendra Rao and written by Vijayendra Prasad. It stars Nagarjuna, Ramya Krishna, Aamani playing the lead roles and music composed by M. M. Keeravani. The film was produ ...

'' (1995) *''Aalu Magalu'' (1995) *'' Sarada Bullodu'' (1996) *'' Appaji'' (1996) (Kannada) *''

Kurubana Rani ''Kurubana Rani'' () is a 1998 Indian Kannada-language film directed, written and scripted by D. Rajendra Babu, starring Shiva Rajkumar, Nagma and Hema Choudhary, Lokesh. The film was produced by Rockline Venkatesh under his home production, Roc ...

'' (1998) (Kannada) *''Rana'' (1998) *''

'' (1999) *'' Simhadri'' (2003) *'' Sye'' (2004) *''

Vijayendra Varma ''Vijayendra Varma'' is a 2004 Indian Telugu-language action film produced by Konda Krishnam Raju under Aditya Productions banner and directed by Swarna Subba Rao. It features Nandamuri Balakrishna, Laya, Sangeeta, Ankita, and the music compos ...

'' (2004) *''

Naa Alludu ''Naa Alludu'' () is a 2005 Indian Telugu-language action comedy film directed by Vara Mullapudi from a story written by V. Vijayendra Prasad. The film stars Jr. NTR, Ramya Krishna, Shriya, and Genelia while Suman, Rajiv Kanakala, Charan R ...

'' (2005) *'' Chatrapati'' (2005) *'' Pandu Ranga Vittala'' (2006) (Kannada) *''

Vikramarkudu ''Vikramarkudu'' is a 2006 Indian Telugu-language action film directed by S. S. Rajamouli who co-wrote the film with V. Vijayendra Prasad. The film stars Ravi Teja and Anushka Shetty. It follows a thief who discovers a girl insisting he is her ...

'' (2006) *''

Yamadonga ''Yamadonga'' ( Big Thief ''or'' Thief of Yama) is a 2007 Indian Telugu-language fantasy action comedy film directed by S.S. Rajamouli who co-wrote the film with V. Vijayendra Prasad. It stars N. T. Rama Rao Jr., Mohan Babu, Priyamani, and M ...

'' (2007) *''

Mitrudu ''Mitrudu'' () is a 2009 Indian Telugu-language drama film produced by Sivalenka Krishna Prasad under Vaishavi Cinema banner and directed by Mahadev. Starring Nandamuri Balakrishna, Priyamani and music composed by Mani Sharma. This film was la ...

'' (2009) *''

Siruthai ''Siruthai'' () is a 2011 Indian Tamil-language action film written and directed by Siva. It is a remake of the 2006 Telugu film ''Vikramarkudu'', directed by S. S. Rajamouli. It stars Karthi playing dual roles, alongside Tamannaah and comedia ...

'' (2011) *''

Rowdy Rathore ''Rowdy Rathore'' is a 2012 Indian Hindi-language action comedy film directed by Prabhu Deva and produced by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Ronnie Screwvala under the UTV Motion Pictures and Bhansali Productions banners. A remake of the 2006 Telugu f ...

'' (2012) *'' Baahubali: The Beginning '' (2015) *''

'' (2015) (Hindi) *'' Jaguar'' (2016) (Kannada & Telugu) *'' Baahubali 2: The Conclusion'' (2017) *'' Mersal'' (2017) (Tamil) (co-written screenplay) *'' Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi'' (2019) (Hindi) *''

Thalaivi ''Thalaivii'' () is a 2021 Indian biographical drama film based on the life of Indian actress-politician J. Jayalalithaa. The film stars Kangana Ranaut as Jayalalithaa, Arvind Swamy as M. G. Ramachandran. And Raj Arjun as R. M. Veerappan. Sho ...

'' (2021) (Tamil and Hindi) *''

'' (2022) *''Sita: The Incarnation'' (TBA) (Hindi) *''Aparaajitha Ayodhya'' (TBA) *''Pawan Putra Bhaijaan'' (TBA) (Hindi)

Television

*'' Aarambh'' (Star Plus)

References

External links

Where is1770? {{DEFAULTSORT:Prasad, K. V. Vijayendra Telugu screenwriters Telugu film directors Filmfare Awards winners Living people People from West Godavari district Film directors from Andhra Pradesh Indian male screenwriters 20th-century Indian film directors 21st-century Indian film directors 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Indian dramatists and playwrights Screenwriters from Andhra Pradesh 20th-century Indian male writers 1942 births 21st-century Indian male writers Nandi Award winners Nominated members of the Rajya Sabha