Merlapaka Gandhi
Merlapaka Gandhi (born Merlapaka Che Guevara) is an Indian film director and screenwriter who works primarily in Telugu cinema.[1] In 2013, he made his directorial debut with Venkatadri Express. He later directed Express Raja (2016), and Krishnarjuna Yudham (2018) starring Nani.[2][3]
Merlapaka Gandhi | |
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Born | Merlapaka Che Guevara Vedulla Cheruvu, Andhra Pradesh, India |
Education | B. Tech |
Occupation |
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Early life
Merlapaka was born in the village of Vedulla Cheruvu near Renigunta, Andhra Pradesh in a Telugu-speaking family.[4] His father Merlapaka Murali was a Telugu language novelist and a contemporary of author Yandamuri Veerendranath.[1] Merlapaka was initially given the name Che Guevara because his father was fond of Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara. As their friends and relatives found it difficult to prounce the name, Murali then changed his son's legal given name to 'Gandhi' in honor of independence activist Mahatma Gandhi when he was five years old.[4][5]
Merlapaka was schooled at Tirupati and graduated in Bachelor of Technology at Allagadda.[4]
Film career
Merlapaka wanted to become a film director since the 10th standard. After his engineering course, he convinced his father to let him join a Cinematography course at the L. V. Prasad film institute in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Although, he eventually pursued a direction course there. Later on, he started writing stories and directed a short film. Having received a good response upon its release online, he then started developing the script for Venkatadri Express which was his debut film as a director.
Filmography
Year | Film | Lead Cast | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2013 | Venkatadri Express | Sundeep Kishan, Rakul Preet Singh | Directorial Debut |
2016 | Express Raja | Sharwanand, Surbhi | |
2018 | Krishnarjuna Yudham | Nani, Anupama Parameswaran, Rukshar Dhillon | |
2020 | Untitled remake of Andhadhun | Nithiin, Tamannaah, Nabha Natesh | Filming[6] |
References
- Chowdhary, Y. Sunita (26 November 2015). "Merlapaka Gandhi on an expressway". The Hindu. The Hindu. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
- "Nani to play a dual role again in director Merlapaka Gandhi's next". The Times of India. The Times Group. 27 June 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
- "Krishnarjuna Yudham Worldwide Closing Collections - Disaster". Telugu360.com. 1 May 2018. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
- "Interview with Merlapaka Gandhi - Telugu cinema director". www.idlebrain.com. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
- "గాంధీ అసలు పేరు చే గెవెరా..!". Sakshi (in Telugu). 12 January 2016. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
- "Nithiin begins shoot for the Telugu remake of Andhadun in Dubai with Nabha Natesh - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 28 January 2021.