Director, writer and producer · Telugu cinema
Krishna Vamsi
Krishna Vamsi movies: 20 Telugu films on file (20 as director, 18 as writer, 1 as producer), 1995–2023. Earliest on file: Gulabi (1995). Latest release: Rangamarthanda (22 March 2023).
- Films on file
- 20 (20 as director, 18 as writer, 1 as producer)
- Years on file
- 1995–2023
- Born
- 28 July 1962 · July birthdays (Wikidata)
- Selected films on file
- Govindudu Andarivadele, Murari, Chandralekha
- Record
- Q3199741 on Wikidata
Krishna Vamsi (born Pasupuleti Venkata Bangarraju, 28 July 1962) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer who works in Telugu cinema. Over three decades he has won three National Film Awards, nine Nandi Awards and three Filmfare Awards South. His films include Gulabi (1995), Ninne Pelladata (1996), Sindhooram (1997), Murari (2001), Khadgam (2002), Govindudu Andarivadele (2014) and Rangamarthanda (2023).
Early life
Krishna Vamsi grew up in several towns across Rayalaseema, the Godavari region, Vizag and Ongole, as his father’s job in the Public Works Department kept the family moving, and he often watched several films a day as a schoolboy. He wanted to join FTII, but his father insisted he finish his education; he took a B.Sc. in Tadepalligudem and an MA in agricultural economics from Agra University.
Distribution and early years
With friends he went into film distribution, profiting from Khaidi (1983) before later losses. In 1986 he left home for Madras, working as a light boy and assistant cameraman, and then as an assistant director. Through Siva Nageswara Rao he joined Ram Gopal Varma on Siva (1989), and went on to assist Varma on films including Kshana Kshanam, Raat and Gaayam. He directed Money Money (1994) for Varma’s banner without credit.
Director
Gulabi (1995), his credited debut, impressed Nagarjuna, who had him direct Ninne Pelladata for Annapurna Studios; it became one of the highest-grossing Telugu films of its time. Sindhooram, made under his banner Andhra Talkies, explored why educated young people joined the Naxalite movement; it failed commercially but was acclaimed. Both films won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu. He went on to make Anthahpuram (1998), Murari, Khadgam, Danger (2005), Chandamama (2007) and Mahatma (2009).
Later films
His later work includes Govindudu Andarivadele, with Ram Charan, and Rangamarthanda.
Personal life
He is married to the actress Ramya Krishna, who appeared in his Chandralekha (1998) before their marriage in 2003. He admired the lyricist Sirivennela Sitarama Sastry, who wrote for many of his films and informally adopted him.
Career on file
Krishna Vamsi has 20 Telugu films on file at Tollywood Desk, dated from 1995 to 2023: 20 films as director, 18 films as writer and one film as producer. The earliest of them is Gulabi (1995), and the most recent release is Rangamarthanda (2023). The most widely covered of these, counted by Wikipedia language editions, are Govindudu Andarivadele (2014), Murari (2001) and Chandralekha (1998). Other recent releases on file are Nakshatram (2017), Paisa (2014) and Mogudu (2011).
In the films Krishna Vamsi directed, Prakash Raj appears most often (eight films), ahead of Brahmanandam (5) and Chandra Mohan (5). Music on three of them is by Mani Sharma, with Devi Sri Prasad (2) and Ilaiyaraaja (2) next. Across these films the credits on file name 14 music directors and 78 other credited actors.
Runtime is on file for 19 of them; they average 153 minutes, and the longest is Sri Anjaneyam at 174 minutes. Seven of them have a streaming (OTT) release noted on the site. By decade the list splits into 1990s (6), 2000s (9), 2010s (4) and 2020s (1).
Figures come from the films on file at Tollywood Desk and change as records are added.