Sukumar Bandreddi, known mononymously as Sukumar, is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer known for his work in Telugu cinema. Regarded as one of the finest filmmakers of his generation, he is known for his complex screenwriting and grey-shaded protagonists. His films often receive mixed reception upon release but, over the years, acquire a cult following. S. S. Rajamouli, on multiple occasions, stated his strong admiration for Sukumar.

Labelled by the media as ‘Lekkala Mastaru’ (mathematics teacher), Sukumar is particularly noted for his attention to detail, strong technical values, and plot twists. Some of his most notable works are Pushpa: The Rule (2024), Pushpa: The Rise (2021), Rangasthalam (2018), 1 Nenokkadine (2014), Jagadam (2007), and Arya (2004).

 Early Life

Sukumar was born on January 11, 1970 (making him53 years old, as of 2023), in Mattaparru, a village in present-day Konaseema district, Andhra Pradesh. He was the youngest of six children of Tirupathi Rao Naidu, a rice trader, and Veena Vani, a homemaker. After receiving a high school diploma from Zilla Parishad High School, Razzole, he graduated with a master’s degree in mathematics and worked as a lecturer at Aditya Junior College, Kakinada.

Career

Sukumar made his directorial debut with Arya (2004), a romantic drama starring Allu Arjun and Anu Mehta in the lead roles. It narrates the story of Arya, a happy-go-lucky boy, who falls in love with Geetha, an introverted girl who’s already engaged to Ajay, the son of a local politician. The film, which was released on May 7, 2004 to positive reviews from critics and audiences alike, was commercially successful. Owing to the film’s success, it was remade into Tamil, Bengali, and Odia.

His next venture was Jagadam (2007), an action-drama starring Ram Pothineni and Isha Sahani in the lead. Despite being a failure at the box office, over the years, the film developed a huge cult following for the performances, direction, and music. He then wrote and directed Arya 2 (2009), a spiritual sequel to Arya (2004). The film received mixed reviews and was a average grosser at the box office.

After a two-year-long gap, he directed 100% Love (2011), a romantic comedy starring Naga Chaitanya and Tamannah. The film deals with teanagers Balu and Mahalakshmi, who fall in love but decide to part ways following an ego conflict. The film went on to become one of the biggest hits of the year.

Sukumar’s next venture was 1: Nenokkadine (2014), a psychological thriller starring Mahesh Babu and Kriti Sanon. Upon release, the film was labelled ‘too experimental’ and received criticism for its complexity in the screenplay, though the performances, writing, emotional weight, direction, music, and other technical aspects received immense praise. S. S. Rajamouli, who on multiple occasions spoke about his deep admiration for Sukumar, called the film ‘a very brave attempt’. The film was way ahead of its time and, expectedly, bombed at the box office. His next venture was Nannaku Prematho (2016), starring NTR and Rakul Preet Singh. The film received mixed-to-positive reviews upon release and ended up being a profitable venture.

Sukumar’s biggest breakthrough came with Rangasthalam (2018), a period action-drama film starring Ram Charan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, and Jagapathi Babu. The film narrates the story of two brothers who decide to halt the oppressive and corrupt rule of their village. The film opened to rave reviews upon release, with critics appreciating the stupendous performances of the cast, writing, emotional weight, music, cinematography, and production design. The film went on to become one of the highest-grossing Telugu films of all time. His next venture, Pushpa: The Rise (2021), a period action drama film starring Allu Arjun in the titular role, deals with red sandalwood smuggling in the district of Chittor, Andhra Pradesh. Released across all the major languages, the fim received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics but was commercially successful. A sequel, Pushpa: The Rule (2024), was released to positive reviews from audiences and emerged as a commercial success.

Filmmaking Style

As a writer, Sukumar is influenced by Gudipati Venkatachalam, Yandamuri Veerendranath, Yaddalapudi Sulochanarani, and Martin Scorsese. His films often feature a non-linear screenplay, strong emotional quotient, detailing, and re-visiting a scene again and again. He is also noted for infusing grey shades into the characterizations of his protagonists, such as selfishness and jealousy.

Technical Collaborations

Sukumar is known for collaborating with Devi Sri Prasad to compose soundtracks for all the feature films he directs. All the albums of the duo were instant chartbusters, and Rangasthalam (2018) is widely considered the career-best work of Prasad; the duo is particularly noted for a mandatory item number in their films. He’s collaborated with the cinematographer R. Rathnavelu on four of his nine films.

Film Production

Sukumar established a production company called ‘Sukumar Writings’ with the idea of producing films he wrote. His first venture as a producer was Kumari 21F (2015), which received positive reviews upon release and was commercially successful. He went on to produce Darshakudu (2017), 100% Kadhal (2020), a Tamil remake of his own work 100% Love (2011), Uppena (2021), and 18 Pages (2022). His latest venture, Virupaksha (2023), a horror thriller, was one of the biggest hits of the year.

Personal Life

During the screening of his debut film Arya (2004) at the Sudarshan Theatre in Hyderabad, he met Thabitha Hamshini. After years of courtship, they got married in the presence of his family in 2009. The couple have a daughter, Sukriti, and a son, Sukranth.

Note: This section is heavily inspired from Wikipedia.