Prasanth Varma

Prasanth Varma is an Indian film director and screenwriter who works primarily in Telugu cinema. He is best known for directing Awe (2018) and Zombie Reddy (2021).

Prasanth Varma
Born (1989-05-29) 29 May 1989[1]
Palakollu, Andhra Pradesh, India
Occupations
  • Film director
  • screenwriter
Years active2011–present
RelativesSneha Sameera (sister)

Career

2011–2017: Initial career

Varma began his career in 2011 by directing a short film Deenamma Jeevitham.[2] He then directed advertisement films and few short films including A Silent Melody (2014) and Dialogue in the Dark (2017). In 2015, he directed a five-episode web series Not Out starring Brian Lara. It was premiered on YuppTV.[3][4]

In an interview to Idlebrain.com, he admitted that Singeetam Srinivasa Rao, Christopher Nolan, K. Viswanath and Mani Ratnam are his major influences.[5]

2018–present: Debut in feature films, breakthrough and critical acclaim

His first feature film was 2018 psychological cross genre film Awe (2018), although That Is Mahalakshmi was his directorial debut. Due to production issues and creative differences That is Mahalakshmi was post poned and delayed for several times. In September 2017, it was revealed that Tamannaah would work on the Telugu version of the film which would be directed by Neelakanta.[6] Filming began on 2 November 2017. However, in January 2018, Neelakanta left the film,[7] and was replaced by Prashanth Varma.[8] As of 2022, the film is yet to release.

In 2017, Varma narrated his Awe story to actor Nani. Soon, it was confirmed that the film will be produced by Nani and Prashanti Tipirneni through Wall Poster Cinema. The film deals with various psychological issues and social problems like child abuse, sexual abuse, and drug abuse. Critics praised Varma's story and direction for showcasing social problems and portrayal of lesbian characters. Baradwaj Rangan stated "Awe is genuinely subversive."[9] His next release was Kalki (2019), starring Rajasekhar and produced by C. Kalyan. The original story was written by Saitej Desharaj, like a web-series, for which Prasanth had to adapt the screenplay into a feature film format, which took him eight months to finish.[10]

Varma's third release was Zombie Reddy (2021).[11] It was originally scheduled for a release in 2020, but was indefinitely post-poned due to COVID-19 lockdown in India. Marketed as the first zombie film in Tollywood (Telugu cinema),[12] it opened to positive reviews and was success full at the box-office. Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of The Hindu wrote that "In one stroke, director Prasanth Varma juxtaposes different worlds — a pandemic looming large, zombies, Rayalaseema faction rivalry — to hilarious effect"[13] On 29 May 2021, he announced his next film Hanu-Man.[14] The film is marketed as the first Telugu Superhero film.[15][16] On 23 March 2022, he announced his next film with D.V.V. Danayya's son, Kalyan Dasari, titled, Adhira. Adhira, along with Hanu Man, are intended to be part of his superhero cinematic universe.

Filmography

Other works
Year Film Notes
2011 Deenamma Jeevitham directorial debut
2014 A Silent Melody
2015 Not Out YuppTV series[17]
2017 Dialogue in the Dark

Feature films
  • All films are in Telugu
† Denotes films that have not yet been released
Year Film Director Screenplay Story Notes
2018 Awe Yes Yes Yes feature film debut
2019 Kalki Yes Yes No
2021 Zombie Reddy Yes Yes Yes
Adbhutham No No Yes Released on Disney+ Hotstar[18]
2024 Hanu Man† Yes Yes Yes Post-production; First installment in Prasanth Varma Cinematic Universe (PVCU)
TBA Adhira† Yes Yes Yes Pre-production; Second installment in PVCU
TBA That Is Mahalakshmi† Yes Yes No Delayed

References
  1. "On his birthday, filmmaker Prasanth Varma announces Hanu-Man, first Telugu superhero movie". 29 May 2021.
  2. Dundoo, Sangeetha Devi (6 February 2018). "'Awe' is an experiment that got bigger and bigger". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  3. "YuppTV Launches Its First Original Content with a Web Series Starring Cricket Legend - Brian Lara is NOT OUT!". www.businesswire.com. 5 November 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  4. "Yupp TV launches first web series with Brian Lara". Indian Television Dot Com. 5 November 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  5. "Interview with Prasanth Varma about Awe - Telugu cinema director". www.idlebrain.com. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  6. "After Kajal gets confirmed for Tamil version, Tamannaah bags Telugu remake of Queen?". deccanchronicle.com. 6 September 2017. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  7. "Queen remake: Tamannaah Bhatia responds to reports of director Neelakanta quitting over creative differences". Firstpost. 16 January 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  8. "Prasanth Varma to helm Queen remake". Deccan Chronicle. 28 May 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  9. "Awe Movie Review by Baradwaj Rangan - Filmcompanion". Film Companion. 1 March 2018. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  10. "Interview with Prasanth Varma about Kalki by Maya Nelluri - Telugu cinema director". www.idlebrain.com. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  11. Zombie Reddy Movie Review: A desi zombie film complete with factionism and lots of drama, retrieved 22 June 2021
  12. FC, Team (5 December 2020). "Teaser of Prasanth Varma's Zombie Reddy: The First Bite Is Pretty Cool, And Has Corona References Too". Film Companion. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  13. Dundoo, Sangeetha Devi (5 February 2021). "'Zombie Reddy' movie review: When the zombies attack Seema". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  14. "Hanu-Man: Awe director Prasanth Varma announces Telugu cinema's first superhero film". Hindustan Times. 29 May 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  15. "Director Prasanth Varma announces next Telugu film, 'Hanu-Man'". The News Minute. 29 May 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  16. Janani K. (29 May 2021). "Director Prasanth Varma announces Telugu's first superhero film Hanu-Man. Watch". India Today. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  17. "YuppTV to launch its first web series on Brian Lara". Business Standard India. Press Trust of India. 4 November 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  18. Desk, klapboard (18 July 2020). "Adbutham is a 'scriptsville' story: Mallik Ram | klapboardpost". Retrieved 1 July 2021.
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