Gunasekhar | |
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 Gunasekhar in 2015 | |
| Born | Gunasekhar 2 June 1964 (1964-06-02) (age 61)[1] Narsipatnam,Andhra Pradesh, India |
| Occupations |
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| Spouse | Ragini |
| Children | 2; including Neelima |
Gunasekhar (born 2 June 1964) is an Indian film director and screenwriter known for his works inTelugu cinema. He has directed films inaction,romance,mythological, andhistorical drama genres. He has won aNational Film Award, multipleNandi Awards, aFilmfare Award South, and aGaddar Award.
Gunasekhar directed the historical epic filmRamayanam (1997), which won theNational Film Award for Best Children's Film and was screened at theInternational Children's Film Festival of India.[2][3] His 2003action film,Okkadu was huge commercial success becoming the highest grossing Telugu film of that year and was remade into various Indian languages.[4][5] His other notable films includeSogasu Chooda Tharamaa (1995),Choodalani Vundi (1998),Manoharam (2000), andRudhramadevi (2015).
Before venturing into mainstream film direction, Gunasekar worked as an associate director to D. V. Narsaraju,Kranthi Kumar, andRam Gopal Varma.[6] Gunasekhar made his directorial debut with the socio-politicalLathi (1992), for which he received the stateNandi Award for Best First Film of a Director.
He directed the super-hitromance film,Sogasu Chooda Tharamaa (1995), which received theNandi Award for Best Feature Film. In 1997, Gunasekhar directed the mythological filmRamayanam, which won theNational Film Award for Best Children's Film and was screened at theInternational Children's Film Festival of India.[2][3]
His next film was the action thrillerChoodalani Vundi (1998), which introduced theDTS sound to the Telugu screen and was a box-office hit.[7] The film was later remade into Hindi as,Calcutta Mail. He then directed the political thriller,Manoharam (2000), which again bagged theNandi Award for Best Story, and theNandi Award for Best Feature Film.
His 2003action drama,Okkadu, starringMahesh Babu andBhumika Chawla, was a huge critical and commercial success, becoming the highest-grossing Telugu film of that year and was remade into various Indian languages; it catapulted Mahesh Babu to superstardom.[4][5] He reunited with Mahesh Babu and Prakash Raj in the 2004 action drama film,Arjun, which released to mixed reviews upon release and ended up becoming an average grosser. It was screened at theInternational Film Festival of India, in the mainstream section.[8]
He reunited with them again in the 2006 action drama,Sainikudu, produced byC. Aswini Dutt. It opened to mixed-to-negative reviews upon release and became a huge commercial disaster. He collaborated withAllu Arjun in the 2010romantic thriller,Varudu, produced byD. V. V. Danayya. It opened to negative reviews upon release and likeSainikudu, became a huge commercial disaster. He collaborated withRavi Teja in the 2012 action drama,Nippu, produced byY. V. S. Chowdary. LikeSainikudu andVarudu, it opened to widespread criticism and was a huge commercial disaster.
His 2015historical film,Rudhramadevi, starringAnushka Shetty,Rana Daggubati, andAllu Arjun and produced by himself, opened to mixed reviews upon release. Despite that, it managed to became an average grosser owing to the stardom of Anushka and Allu Arjun.[9][10][11] His last venture was the mythologicalromantic drama filmShaakuntalam, which released on 14 April 2023 to highly negative reviews and became a huge commercial failure.[12]
Gunasekhar is married to Ragini, and the couple have two daughters, Neelima and Yukhta.[13]
| Year | Film | Director | Producer | Screenwriter | Awards and Honors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Laati | Yes | No | Yes | Nandi Award for Best First Film of a Director[14] |
| 1995 | Sogasu Chooda Tharamaa | Yes | No | Yes | Nandi Award for Best Screenplay Writer |
| 1997 | Ramayanam | Yes | No | Yes | National Film Award for Best Children's Film International Children's Film Festival of India |
| 1998 | Choodalani Vundi | Yes | No | Yes | |
| 2000 | Manoharam | Yes | No | Yes | |
| 2001 | Mrugaraju | Yes | No | Yes | |
| 2003 | Okkadu | Yes | No | Yes | Nandi Award for Best Director Filmfare Award for Best Director – Telugu[15] |
| 2004 | Arjun | Yes | No | Yes | International Film Festival of India |
| 2006 | Sainikudu | Yes | No | Yes | |
| 2010 | Varudu | Yes | No | Yes | |
| 2012 | Nippu | Yes | No | Yes | |
| 2015 | Rudhramadevi | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| 2023 | Shaakuntalam | Yes | Yes | Yes | New York International Film Awards[16] |
| 2026 | Euphoria | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| 1981–1990 |
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| 1991–2000 |
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| 2001–2010 |
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| 2011–present |
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