Director, writer and actor · Telugu cinema
Sukumar
Sukumar movies: 14 Telugu films on file (10 as director, 4 as writer, 2 as actor), 2004–2024. Earliest on file: Arya (2004). Latest release: Pushpa 2: The Rule (5 December 2024).
- Films on file
- 14 (10 as director, 4 as writer, 2 as actor)
- Years on file
- 2004–2024
- Born
- 10 January 1971 · January birthdays (Wikidata)
- Selected films on file
- Pushpa: The Rise, 1: Nenokkadine, Pushpa 2: The Rule
- Record
- Q7635908 on Wikidata
Sukumar (Bandreddi Sukumar) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer in Telugu cinema, known for intricate screenplays and protagonists with grey shades. His debut Arya (2004) won him the Filmfare Award for Best Director – Telugu, and his later films include Rangasthalam (2018), Pushpa: The Rise (2021) and Pushpa 2: The Rule (2024), which won him the National Film Award for Best Screenplay.
Wikipedia gives his birth date as 11 January 1971, citing IndiaGlitz, while Wikidata gives 10 January 1971. Wikipedia says he was born in Mattaparru, a village near Malikipuram in today’s Konaseema district, Andhra Pradesh, the youngest of six children of a rice trader; Wikidata lists Kakinada as his birthplace. He studied at Zilla Parishad High School, Razole, took a master’s degree in mathematics, and taught mathematics and physics at Aditya Junior College, Kakinada, for nearly seven years.
Career
He left teaching to write for films with his colleague Prakash Toleti, worked as an assistant director on Manasichi Choodu (1998) and assisted V. V. Vinayak on Dil (2003). Its producer, Dil Raju, backed his first film, Arya, a major success that also won him the Nandi Award for Best Screenplay Writer. Jagadam (2007), with Ram Pothineni, drew mixed reviews. Arya 2 (2009), with Allu Arjun, was one of the few Telugu successes of its year, and 100% Love (2011), with Naga Chaitanya and Tamannaah, was also a commercial success.
He then made the psychological thriller 1: Nenokkadine (2014) with Mahesh Babu, the short film I Am That Change (2014) with Allu Arjun, and Nannaku Prematho (2016), N. T. Rama Rao Jr.‘s 25th film, which received positive reviews. Rangasthalam, with Ram Charan, became the third highest-grossing Telugu film at the time, behind the Baahubali films.
Pushpa: The Rise, with Allu Arjun and Rashmika, was released across languages and was the highest-grossing Indian film of 2021. Its sequel Pushpa 2: The Rule, released on 5 December 2024, met with critical acclaim and became one of the highest-grossing Indian films of all time. He made a cameo appearance as himself in Gang Leader (2019).
Through his banner Sukumar Writings, set up in 2014, he has produced films including Kumari 21F (2015), Uppena (2021) and Virupaksha (2023). Devi Sri Prasad has scored every feature he has directed.
Awards
- National Film Award for Best Screenplay for Pushpa 2: The Rule (Wikipedia winners list).
- Filmfare Award for Best Director – Telugu for Arya, Pushpa: The Rise and Pushpa 2: The Rule (Wikipedia winners list).
- SIIMA Award for Best Director – Telugu for Rangasthalam, Pushpa: The Rise and Pushpa 2: The Rule (Wikipedia winners list).
- Nandi Award for Best Screenplay Writer for Arya, and the K. V. Reddy Memorial Award (2014).
Upcoming films
No upcoming film of his is on our records. New films appear on upcoming Telugu movies as they are recorded.
Where to watch his films
- Pushpa 2: The Rule: Netflix, from 30 January 2025, per Wikipedia (OTT details)
- Rangasthalam: Prime Video, from 12 May 2018, per Wikipedia (OTT details)
- Nannaku Prematho: digital rights with Sun NXT, per Wikipedia (OTT details)
- Arya 2: Aha, per the platform listing (OTT details)
Catalogues change; check the platform before you plan to watch.
Personal life
He married Thabitha in 2009, according to Wikipedia, citing the Deccan Chronicle. They have a daughter, Sukriti Veni, who made her acting debut in Gandhi Tatha Chettu, and a son.
Sources: Wikipedia and the references it cites (linked above), Wikidata, and Tollywood Desk’s film and OTT records.
Career on file
Sukumar has 14 Telugu films on file at Tollywood Desk, dated from 2004 to 2024: ten films as director, four films as writer and two films as actor. The earliest of them is Arya (2004), and the most recent release is Pushpa 2: The Rule (2024). The most widely covered of these, counted by Wikipedia language editions, are Pushpa: The Rise (2021), 1: Nenokkadine (2014) and Pushpa 2: The Rule (2024). Other recent releases on file are 18 Pages (2022), Gaddalakonda Ganesh (2019) and Gang Leader (2019).
In the films Sukumar directed, Allu Arjun appears most often (five films), ahead of Jagapati Babu (3) and Indukuri Sunil Varma (3). Music on ten of them is by Devi Sri Prasad. Mythri Movie Makers produced four of them, more than any other banner on file. Across these films the credits on file name 3 different directors, 5 music directors and 52 other credited actors.
Runtime is on file for 13 of them; they average 162 minutes, and the longest is Pushpa 2: The Rule at 200 minutes. Six of them have a streaming (OTT) release noted on the site. By decade the list splits into 2000s (3), 2010s (8) and 2020s (3).
Figures come from the films on file at Tollywood Desk and change as records are added.