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V. Vijayendra Prasad

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Koduri Viswa Vijayendra Prasad (born 27 May 1942) is an Indian screenwriter and film director who predominantly works in Telugu cinema.[3] He also worked in a few Hindi, Kannada, and Tamil films. With a career spanning across nearly three decades, his filmography consists of over 25 films as a screenwriter.[4] He is considered to be one of the most successful film writers in India and only screenwriter who has had a hand in several of the biggest movies of Indian cinema.[5][6] He has frequently collaborated with his son, the director S. S. Rajamouli, to deliver some of the highest-grossing Indian films of all time.

V. Vijayendra Prasad
Prasad in 2019
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
Incumbent
Assumed office
7 July 2022
Preceded byRoopa Ganguly
ConstituencyNominated (Cinema)
Personal details
Born
Koduri Viswa Vijayendra Prasad[1]

(1942-05-27) 27 May 1942 (age 82)[2]
Kovvur, Madras Presidency, British India (present-day Andhra Pradesh, India)
RelativesS. S. Rajamouli (son)
Occupation
  • Screenwriter
  • film director

His notable work as a writer includes films like Bobbili Simham (1994), Magadheera (2009), Eega (2012), the Baahubali series, RRR (2022), Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015), Manikarnika (2019) and Mersal (2017).[7][8][9][10] In 2011, he directed the Telugu film Rajanna, which won the Nandi Award for Best Feature Film.[11] In 2016, he won the Filmfare Award for Best Story for the film Bajrangi Bhaijaan.[12] His upcoming films include 1770, Sita: The Incarnation, Aparaajitha Ayodhya, Pawan Putra Bhaijaan, and Vikramarkudu 2.[3]

On 6 July 2022, President of India Ram Nath Kovind nominated him as a member of Rajya Sabha, the upper house of Indian Parliament.[13]

Early life

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Koduri Viswa Vijayendra Prasad was born on 27 May 1942 in a Telugu family, in Kovvur near Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh. He studied at Sir C.R. Reddy College in Eluru.[4]

Prasad's family had lands in Kovvur which were lost when the railways lines went most through them.[14] Then, Prasad moved to Karnataka from Kovvur in 1968. He, along with his elder brother K. V. Sivashankar, bought seven acres of paddy fields in Hirekotikal village of Manvi Taluk in Raichur district. Their family moved back to Kovvur in 1977.[15] He also ventured into various businesses which ended up as losses.[4]

Career

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His brother Siva Shakthi Datta's passion for films made Vijayendra Prasad and his family to shift to Madras. Datta assisted a couple of directors for some time and started a film titled Pillanagrovi which was stopped midway due to financial reasons. As his brother was already in the film industry, Prasad started assisting his brother.[4]

Prasad got introduced to K. Raghavendra Rao through Samatha Arts' Mukherjee who was a friend of his. Raghavendra Rao started giving him and Datta small assignments. They got their first break with Janaki Ramudu (1988) which became successful at the box office.[4][16]

Next, he wrote the film Bangaru Kutumbam (1994) which won the Nandi Award for Best Film.[17] His next film was Bobbili Simham (1994) which was commercially successful and earned Prasad recognition as a screenwriter.[4] He later provided the story for Samarasimha Reddy (1999) which became one of the biggest hits of the time in Telugu cinema.[18]

Personal life

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Prasad had an inter-caste love marriage with Raja nandini.[19][20] They have two children—a daughter who now lives in Australia and a son S. S. Rajamouli, a filmmaker.[19] Prasad is uncle to music composers M. M. Keeravani, M. M. Srilekha, and Kalyani Malik.

Prasad dropped ‘K’ from his name, K. V. Vijayendra Prasad as he felt it was an indicator of his caste.[21][19] He cited Hindu epics Mahabharata and Ramayana as a source of his inspiration.[22] He cites 1957 Telugu film Mayabazar, as his all time favourite film.[23] He also cited the screenwriting duo Salim–Javed (Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar) as a major inspiration on his work, especially their screenplay for Sholay (1975), among other films.[24] On July 6, 2022, Indian government nominated Prasad to the Rajya Sabha.[13]

Awards

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Nandi Awards

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Nandi Award for Best Feature Film – Rajanna

Filmfare Awards 2016

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Best Story – Bajrangi Bhaijaan

Sony Guild Awards 2016

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Best Story – Bajrangi Bhaijaan

The Iconic Trade Achiever of the Year

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The Iconic Trade Achiever of the Year – 2015 Award from Indywood Film Market

Filmography

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Films

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All films in Telugu unless otherwise noted.

Director
Film Year
1996 Ardhangi
2006 Sri Krishna 2006
2011 Rajanna
2017 Srivalli
Writer

Television

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References

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  1. ^ "Meet SS Rajamouli's father, writer V Vijayendra Prasad, who has penned RRR, Baahubali, Bajrangi Bhaijaan". DNA India. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  2. ^ "'Baahubali' writer V Vijayendra Prasad in talks to pen Aamir Khan's 'Mahabharat'". The Hindu. 13 June 2020. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Rajya Sabha nominee K V Vijayendra Prasad is RRR, Bajrangi Bhaijaan screenwriter and SS Rajamouli's dad". Hindustan Times. 6 July 2022. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Atluri, Sri (10 December 2004). "TC Exclusive: Interview with writer Vijayendra Prasad". Telugucinema.com. Archived from the original on 11 December 2004.
  5. ^ Pandey, Devasheesh; news, India TV (6 July 2022). "Vijayendra Prasad nominated to RS: Not just Rajamouli's father but most successful film writer in India". www.indiatvnews.com. Retrieved 6 August 2024. {{cite web}}: |last2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ^ Cain, Rob. "Vijayendra Prasad: The Mastermind Behind 'Mersal', 'Baahubali' And Other Giant Hits". Forbes. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  7. ^ "61st Filmfare Awards 2015 – Live Update". The Times of India.
  8. ^ "Baahubali, Bajrangi Bhaijaan: Meet the Rs 500 crore writer". India Today. 20 July 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  9. ^ "Salman Khan's Bajrangi Bhaijaan Has a Baahubali Connection". NDTV.com. 20 July 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  10. ^ "Salman Khan's 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan', SS Rajamouli's 'Baahubali' – a unique connection". The Indian Express. 20 July 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  11. ^ Small wonder – The Hindu. Thehindu.com (1 January 2012). Retrieved on 2015-10-31.
  12. ^ "Filmfare Awards Winners 2016: Complete list of winners of Filmfare Awards 2016". timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  13. ^ a b Bhandari, Shashwat (6 July 2022). "Celebrated athlete PT Usha, Philanthropist Veerendra Heggade among 4 nominated for Rajya Sabha". India TV. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  14. ^ Nachaki, Sri (10 December 2004). "TC Exclusive: Interview with writer Vijayendra Prasad". Telugucinema.com. Archived from the original on 11 December 2004.
  15. ^ "Karnataka roots: Baahubali 2 director Rajamouli was born in Raichur". The Times of India. 3 May 2017.
  16. ^ "S. S. Rajamouli Exclusive interview with TC.Com". Telugucinema.com. 22 September 2004. Archived from the original on 6 December 2004.
  17. ^ "నంది అవార్డు విజేతల పరంపర (1964–2008)" [A series of Nandi Award Winners (1964–2008)] (PDF) (in Telugu). Information & Public Relations of Andhra Pradesh. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  18. ^ "Balakrishna in full-length factionist avatar after long gap?". The Hans India. 15 November 2021.
  19. ^ a b c "K. V. Vijayendra Prasad Interview - Full Episode", Alitho Saradaga (in Telugu), ETV, 31 May 2021, retrieved 24 May 2023; Event occurs from 36:12 to 38:51
  20. ^ Mamatha Reddy (2 June 2021). "Did Vijayendra Prasad intentionally reveal about inter-caste marriage?". India Herald. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  21. ^ "Why did Katappa Kill Baahubali?". The Indian Express. 18 March 2018. Retrieved 8 July 2022. Very early in his career, he dropped 'K' from his name, KV Vijayendra Prasad, because "it was an indicator of my caste". "The caste system is at the root of most problems our country faces. I want it eradicated but it's not enough to preach without practising it."
  22. ^ Jhunjhunwala, Udita (23 November 2022). "'RRR' Screenwriter Vijayendra Prasad Talks Looking to Indian Epics for Story Inspiration". Variety. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  23. ^ iDream Media (28 February 2018). Mayabazar Is My All Time Favourite Movie - KV Vijayendra Prasad || Heart To Heart With Swapna. Retrieved 6 August 2024 – via YouTube.
  24. ^ Singh, Suhani (17 June 2017). "Baahubali writer KV Vijayendra Prasad is going places at 75". India Today. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
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