Unveiling the layers of the man behind the Universal show
Early Life & Schooling
The man behind the remarkable direction of Pushpa was born to Indian parents, father irupathi Naidu ( a Trader ) and mother Veena Vani ( a homemaker) on 11 January 1970, in Mattaparru, a village near Malikipuram in the East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh. He did his schooling from a Zila Parishad School, Razole, and graduated with a master’s degree in mathematics.
Expedition from Teacher to Director
The intelligent screenwriter and exceptional director worked as a Mathematics and Physics lecturer in Aditya Junior College, Razole for six years before stepping into the industry. He started his career as a writer with his Junior Prakash Toleti, as they opined that life was too prosaic as a lecturer. He worked in multiple films before his directorial debut.
Arya: The beginning that changed his life forever
Sukumar began working on the script of his directorial debut Arya (2004) in Visakhapatnam. Sukumar met the love of his life, Thabitha, first at the Sudarshan Theatre, RTC X Roads,
Hyderabad during the screening of Arya. Arya was commercially successful; it grossed ₹ 160 million on a budget of ₹40 million. The fame of Arya catapulted Sukumar into stardom overnight. In 2009, he married Thabitha and the couple has two children, daughter Sukriti Veni & son Sukranth Naidu.
Trivia
His debut movie, Arya(2004) earned the Filmfare Award for Best Director – Telugu at the 52nd Filmfare Awards South ceremony, and the Best Screenplay Writer award at the annual Nandi Awards ceremony. He was nominated and received multiple awards for his other exceptional movies including Arya 2, Rangasthalam, 100% Love, and Nannaku Prematho.
BTS Pushpa: The Rise
With his unique concepts and screenplay, Sukumar has delivered several superhits, and his recent film Pushpa:the rise, starring Allu Arjun, is no other exception. He described the storyline as, “the red sanders heist in the hills of Andhra is a convoluted nexus that unfurls in the course of the narrative through a coolie-turned-smuggler.” With incredible music, great screenplay, outstanding direction, and terrific acting, the movie turned out to be a phenomenal success with a total collection of Rs.354 crores & emerged as the highest grosser film in 2021.
Lesser-known Realities to Reflect
Sukumar has his banner named ‘Sukumar Writings’ under which he produces films. He turned vegetarian at the age of six when one of his favorite roosters was killed. In an interview, he revealed that first, he thought of making Pushpa a web series but later on after vigorous research he ended up making it a film. He wishes to cast Akshay Kumar in his Bollywood film if he ever gets a perfect story.
