Telugu directors who proved their mettle right from the word GO

Home to talented and skilful cine artists, Tollywood has always welcomed newbie directors to showcase their potential on the big screen. Debut films create a remarkable memory for the performers since it’s their first experimentation on a large scale. From Sukumar’s Arya to Sandeep Raj’s Colour Photo, here are the Telugu movie directors who successfully created sensational blockbusters with their directorial debuts.

Here is a list of brilliant Telugu movie directors who grabbed the attention of the audiences with their debuts.

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#1 Sukumar Bandreddi

Applauded as one of the Indian directors with the sensational hit, Pushpa- The Rise, Sukumar started his cinema journey in 2004. His directorial debut movie was Arya starring Allu Arjun and Anu Mehta in the lead. The movie budget is said to be Rs 4 crores and collected approximately RS 30 crores countrywide which shook the Telugu Box Office. Sukumar’s Arya created a landmark in love portrayal. With such a kickstart, he directed many films including evergreen hits like Arya 2, 100% Love, Nannaku Prematho, and Rangasthalam. Currently, the director is busy with the proceedings of the movie Pushpa- The Rule.

#2 Nandini Reddy

One of the popular female directors in Telugu cinema, Nandini Reddy is known for her simple yet excellent writing and direction. Her films always mesmerise the audience owing to the unique screenplay which can be seen in her debut film itself. Ala Modalaindi, released in 2011, introduced her to the silver screen as a director. The movie budget was Rs 4 crores and collected approximately Rs 15 crores countrywide, which was the biggest success for a female debut director. Starring Nani and Nithya Menon in the lead, this film won the hearts of all with its cute and sweet story and screenplay. Later, in her journey, Nandini Reddy also bagged some hits such as Oh Baby and Pitta Kathalu with her directional skills. Currently, she is working on her next film titled Anni Manchi Sakunamule under the Swapna Cinema banner.

#3 Koratala Siva

The Srimanthudu fame director, Koratala Siva, created a sensation with his debut film Mirchi itself which was made with just a Rs 30 crore budget. Released in 2013, this film starring Prabhas and Anushka Shetty in the lead ruled the hearts of all collecting a whooping 80 crores INR. Mirchi, a power-pack movie with powerful action sequences, and an impactful family story showcased  Koratala Siva’s directional skills to the maximum. Impressing the audience with a moralistic and meaningful storyline, Koratala Siva had directed some hit films like Srimanthudu, Janatha Garage, and Bharat Ane Nenu in the past. Koratala Siva is continuing his directorial journey with NTR30 which is yet to be named.

#4 Venkatesh Maha

With the release of the suburban-inclined movie called C/O Kancherpalem, Venkatesh Maha gave his debut as a director. The budget was estimated between Rs 44-70 lakhs and the movie collected a gross of Rs 7 crores which was a phenomenal feat for a debutant. Released in 2018, this movie impressed the audience with its raw and realistic story and screenplay. Venkatesh Maha was appreciated for a simple yet exciting portrayal of different stories based in Kancharpalem. Later, he continued his journey by directing the film Uma Maheshwara Ugra Rupasuya starring Satya Dev in the lead which failed to reach beyond the critics. But the web series Modern Love Hyderabad received a positive talk from the audience. Recently, he performed as a character artist in the 2022 film Ante Sundaraniki.

#5 Sandeep Raj

Grabbing the National Award for Best Telugu film at 68th National Film Awards tells how beautiful the movie Colour Photo was. Adorned with an impactful screenplay and starring Suhas and Chandini Chowdhary, this directorial debut film of Sandeep Raj in 2020 left the audience wonderstruck with the vintage feel of the 90s. A cameo role in Agent Sai Sreenivas Arthreya and also being a part of the famous YouTube channel (Chai Bisket) in his early career made Sandeep Raj popular among Telugu audiences. As of now, there are no updates regarding his future projects.

#6 Vijay Kankamedala

Introduced to the Telugu audiences with the movie Gandhi, released in 2021, Vijay impressed many with the close-to-reality film with the most unique storyline that is based on pending and wrong cases filed at police stations. Marked with outstanding performances of Allari Naresh and Navami Gayak in the lead, the movie bagged a smashing collection of Rs 8 crores while its budget was said to be Rs 4 crores. Though the numbers weren’t huge, the powerful moral was received well by the audience.

#7 Buchi Babu Sana

With the experience of working as an assistant to Sukumar, Buchi Babu entangled the audience with his first directorial film Uppena. A pure love story with stunning performances and songs made Uppena adorable to Telugu people. Released in 2021 and directed with a budget of Rs 22 crores, this film grabbed an immense collection of over Rs 80 crores as per trade reports, proving its amazing cinematography and direction.

Let us know which one of these Telugu movie directors impressed you the most with their debuts. Stay tuned to Yo! Vizag website and Instagram