Mohan Krishna Indraganti

Mohana Krishna Indraganti is an Indian film director known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema. His debut directorial venture Grahanam (2005) fetched him eleven awards including the National Film Award for Best First Film of a Director, the Nandi Award for Best First Film of a Director and the Gollapudi Srinivas Award for Best First Film of a Director.[1] The film was also showcased in the Indian panorama section of the 2005 International Film Festival of India. He holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from York University.[2]

Mohan Krishna Indraganti
Mohan Krishna Indraganti in Cinivaram
Born
Tanuku, Andhra Pradesh
Alma materUniversity of Hyderabad
York University
OccupationFilm director, screenwriter
Parents
  • Indraganti Srikanth (father)
  • Indraganti Janaki Bala (mother)
AwardsNational Film Award
Nandi Award

Early life

Indraganti Mohana Krishna was born into a Telugu speaking family in Tanuku, West Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh, India. Since his parents, Indraganti Srikanth and Janaki Bala, and grandparents were writers, he had a fascination towards fiction since his childhood. His grandmother's stories were visually detailed in their narration. In addition to this, he has been an avid reader of literary works and also loved to discuss films with his uncle. In an interview, he said that these were the key reasons that contributed to his interest in filmmaking.[3]

His upbringing was in Vijayawada where he completed his schooling and obtained his Bachelor's degree in Arts from Loyola College. Thereafter, he pursued his interest in Arts by obtaining a master's degree in English language and Philosophy from University of Hyderabad.[4] He applied to enroll in one of the courses at the Pune-based Film and Television Institute of India; however, his application was rejected.[5] In the meanwhile, he was the writer and associate director for Mahandhra, a socio-cultural, economic and political study of the erstwhile state of Andhra. This study, made in a documentary-drama format for Doordarshan, was performed in commemoration of India's 50th year of independence.[2] He sent creative samples from this study to Toronto-based York University and its prestigious Department of Film in the Faculty of Fine Arts. This helped him join and complete Master of Fine Arts in Film between 1998–2000. Even though he registered to continue for his Doctoral degree in Communication and Culture, he discontinued it after a year and returned to Hyderabad in 2001.

Foray into films

Though his first feature film Grahanam was first drafted in 1997, his amateurish skills in constructing the screenplay didn't help much at that time. This draft was based on Doshagunam, a short story written by Gudipati Venkatachalam (popularly known as Chalam), a controversial yesteryear Telugu writer and philosopher.[6] Since screenplay writing was his specialisation in his Master of Fine Arts course at York University, he reworked the script by the time he returned to Hyderabad.[3]

To bring this script to cinema, he approached several producers to help him finance it. Even though all of them were fascinated by his story, they were hesitant about its commercial viability. After three years of futile search and despair, Indraganti decided to produce the film with his own money. Chalam's daughter gave him permission to make a film from one of her father's literary works. When veteran Telugu cinema actor Tanikella Bharani was approached with a promising role in the film and a request for enacting without any compensation, he agreed to do so.[3] Out of goodwill, he introduced Indraganti to one of his producer friends who agreed to produce the movie.[7] His debut film fetched him 11 awards with the prominent ones being the National Film Award, Nandi Award bestowed by Government of Andhra Pradesh and Gollapudi Srinivas Memorial Award.[1]

In 2006, his second directorial venture, Mayabazaar, featured Bhumika Chawla and Raja in the lead roles. His next film, Ashta Chamma, which featured Colours Swathi, Nani, Srinivas Avasarala and Bhargavi, was released in 2008 and was a huge success at box office. His later films, Golkonda High School and Anthaka Mundhu Aa Tharuvatha, did well at box office.[8] His movies are mostly liked by the family audience.

Filmography
Year Film Director Writer Screenwriter Notes Ref.
2004 Grahanam International Film Festival of India
2006 Mayabazar [9]
2008 Ashta Chamma [10]
2011 Golconda High School Dialogues [11]
2013 Anthaka Mundu Aa Tarvatha [12]
2014 Bandipotu [13]
2016 Gentleman Dialogues [14]
2017 Ami Thumi Dialogues [15]
2018 Sammohanam [16]
2020 V [17]

Awards
National Film Award
Nandi Awards
Other Awards

References
  1. Rajamani, Radhika (9 October 2006). "The man behind Maya Bazaar". rediff.com. Retrieved 18 June 2008.
  2. "Indian Panorama 2005 Synopses". International Film Festival of India. Archived from the original on 22 April 2008. Retrieved 18 June 2008.
  3. "Interview with Mohana Krishna Indraganti". idlebrain.com. 18 November 2006. Retrieved 17 June 2008.
  4. Phani. "Indraganti's exclusive interview prior Mayabazar". totaltollywood.com. Archived from the original on 5 May 2007. Retrieved 17 June 2008.
  5. Rajamani, Radhika (23 March 2006). "Meet Indraganti Mohan Krishna". rediff.com. Retrieved 17 June 2008.
  6. "Dark days for Grahanam". The Hindu. 20 November 2005. Retrieved 18 June 2008.
  7. "Chalam's story as a film". idlebrain.com. 20 March 2000. Retrieved 17 June 2008.
  8. Rajamani, Radhika (1 September 2008). "Taking on Oscar Wilde!". Rediff.com. Retrieved 7 September 2008.
  9. "Maya Bazaar". Sify. 3 December 2006. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  10. "Ashta Chamma is pure fun". Rediff.com. 5 September 2008. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  11. "Golconda High School is brilliant". Rediff.com. 17 January 2011. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  12. "Anthaka Mundu Aa Tarvatha pressmeet". Idlebrain.com. 27 April 2013. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  13. "'Bandipotu' director Mohan Krishna Indraganti says comedy is the most underrated genre". CNN-News18. 18 February 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  14. "Indraganti Mohana Krishna on taking risks". The Hindu. 16 May 2016. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  15. "Mohan Krishna Indraganti: Used comedy in Ami Thumi to critique world around me". Indian Express. 7 June 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  16. "Sammohanam is Indraganti Mohan Krishna's most romantic film so far, says actor Sudheer Babu". Firstpost. 17 June 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  17. "Mohan Krishna Indraganti's multi-starrer 'V' has a release date". The Times of India. 4 November 2019. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
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