12 Directors and The Movie That Gave Them a Breakthrough

A writer initially, Koratala Siva looks sorted with stories he wants to tell. With a neat screenplay and depth in his subject, his arrival itself put him in the top bracket of star directors. Mirchi enhanced the image of Prabhas big time before he landed in the magnum opus Baahubali. The movie even won a Nandi award for Best Film and after this movie, Siva was signed up by Mahesh Babu for Srimanthudu followed by NTR Jr. for Janatha Garage and by Mahesh Babu once again for Bharat Ane Nenu.

The best thing about SS Rajamouli is he concentrates only on his department – Screenplay and Direction. From his first movie, he seemed a person well acquainted with the craft of direction. With a great team of support team, he has mastered the art of film making. Though he tested the waters with Student No.1, which was a decent hit, he broke through with his second movie itself starring NTR Jr and Bhoomika in the lead roles. Simhadri is registered as an industry hit in NTR Jr.’s career scaling his stardom to another level.

The first break through for NTR Jr. was in the form of VV Vinayak’s directorial debut Aadi. Breaking away from the other commercial directors, Vinayak came forward with a unique style of narration. With Aadi, VV Vinayak immediately rose to the big league of directors in Telugu cinema. Mastering the art of presenting the leads in the most appealing and heroic way was his forte and thereby got plenty of opportunities to work with the biggest of the stars in Telugu. Though he might be faltering a bit off late, he stands as one of the most reliable commercial directors in Telugu cinema today.

If you remember watching Arya in the theatres, it left an everlasting impression on everyone’s face after walking out. The trendy and quirky screenplay by Sukumar and his creative way of story-telling was embraced by everyone alike. With some commendable performances from Allu Arjun, the movie turned out to be the first breakthrough not just for Sukumar but for Allu Arjun as well, escalating him to stardom.

Trivikram entered as a magician with words. Even before he took up direction from being a writer, his movies had his trademark stamped all over. He debuted with Nuvve Nuvve as a director, which was a decent hit but his direction skills were still budding. It was with Athadu, where he blew everyone’s mind showing that he can not only write but also narrate it with some impeccable screenplay. Athadu turned out be one of those cult movies till date and is watched repeatedly by many Telugu movie lovers.

Another commercial director who has got a swag of his own is Puri Jagannadh. His wacky screenplay is prominent in almost all his movies. With Idiot, he and Ravi Teja got a break through to stardom. His lively story telling got him noticed in the industry and that led to him working with almost all the current biggies of Telugu Film Industry. He has given many stars their come-back hits and though his success rate dipped by an inch, even till date he carries the same energy to churn out movies quickly.

Boyapati Srinu’s Simha not only marked Balayya’s come back as a strong contender but also placed him in the top league of directors. He has nurtured himself as a mass director and he masters the art of presenting scenarios in the most violent way. This work of him led to opportunities of working with Balayya again in Legend and the present generation of young heroes.

Shekar Kummula is one director who might have not earned the tag of a commercial director, but that’s no loss for him or any director of his calibre. An NRI that he was, he ventured in direction with Dollar Dreams, but broke through his contemporaries with Anand. This was followed by Happy Days with which he carved a niche of his own. Shekar Kammula is not the run of mill director. He has a story to tell in a screenplay you and I can relate to. It looks simple yet it’s so sweet.

Ram Gopal Varma might be the senior most in this list and a guru to many film makers even now. A pioneer in breaking many rules and making some smart movies was the reason he has been admired by many. If you divide the Telugu cinema into two phases, you could call it Before Siva and After Siva. Such was the impact of RGV’s ‘Siva’ not just on Telugu cinema but on Indian cinema as a whole. His straight forward carefree attitude is one compliment to the movies he always experiments to makes.

Surender Reddy marked his debut with Athanokkade starring Kalyanram and Sindhu Tolani. Though he grabbed the opportunities to work with NTR Jr and Mahesh Babu, those movies were that satisfying which could push Surender Reddy to a step higher. It was with Kick that he made a strong comeback. It even helped Ravi Teja bounce back from his low phase in career. With Race Gurram starring Allu Arjun and Dhruva starring Ram Charan, Surender Reddy has now got the opportunity to work with Megastar Chiranjeevi’s next.

Vamsi Paidipally is slowly making it to the top of the league with a steady success rate ever since he tasted success through Brindavanam starring NTR Jr, Samantha, and Kajal Aggarwal as the leads. He debuted under Dil Raju production Munna but could not make an impact. With Brindavanam, he looks to have cemented his place as one of the top directors in Telugu. This was followed by Yevadu and Oopiri which future strengthened his place.

Harish Shankar debut with Shock starring Ravi Teja and Jyothika. Though the movie carried a good word of mouth, it did not work well at the BO. He returned with Mirapakaya to prove himself as a decent storyteller. But, it was with his fanboy moment when he was chosen to direct Power Star Pawan Kalyan. Knowing exactly what the fans expect from the hero, he delivered a blockbuster with Gabbar Singh relieving PK fans with the much-needed move to celebrate their star’s success.