Puri Jagannadh

Pawan Kalyan, Renu Desai and Ameesha Patel starred in Badri (2000), the first film Puri Jagannadh directed. He had learned the craft as an assistant director to Ram Gopal Varma, largely on action films, after graduating from A. M. A. L. College, Anakapalle, in 1986. Born Petla Jagannadh on 28 September 1966 in Pithapuram, Andhra Pradesh, the director, screenwriter and producer makes his films chiefly in Telugu. Hero-driven commercial entertainers are his territory. His hits include Itlu Sravani Subramanyam, Idiot, Amma Nanna O Tamila Ammayi, Sivamani, Desamuduru, Golimaar, Businessman, Iddarammayilatho, Heart Attack, Temper and iSmart Shankar. Pokiri (2006) premiered at the IIFA Film Festival in Dubai, was remade in several languages and brought him national recognition. In Kannada he made Appu, which introduced Puneeth Rajkumar; in Hindi he directed Shart: The Challenge (2004) and Bbuddah... Hoga Terra Baap (2011) with Amitabh Bachchan. Liger (2022) with Vijay Deverakonda came later. He produces through Puri Jagannadh Touring Talkies, Vaishno Academy and Puri Connects, which he runs with actress Charmme Kaur, and owns the music company Puri Sangeet. SlumDog – 33 Temple Road, which he wrote, directed and produced, with Vijay Sethupathi, Samyuktha and Tabu, has completed filming and is being made in five languages.