Sandeep Reddy Vanga | |
|---|---|
.jpg.webp) Vanga in 2019 | |
| Born | December 25, 1981 Warangal, Telangana, India |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Spouse |
Maneesha Reddy (m. 2014) |
| Children | 2 |
Sandeep Reddy Vanga is an Indian filmmaker who works in Telugu and Hindi cinema. Vanga made his screenwriting and directing debut with the 2017 Telugu film Arjun Reddy, starring Vijay Deverakonda. It was a commercial success gaining him recognition. He continued his success with its Hindi-language remake, Kabir Singh (2019), with Shahid Kapoor in the lead. Kabir Singh ranks among the highest-grossing Hindi films of all time.
Reddy's latest film, the Hindi-language Animal starring Ranbir Kapoor, was released in December 2023.
Early life
Sandeep Reddy Vanga was born in Warangal, Telangana to Prabhakar Reddy and Sujatha. He has an elder brother, Pranay Reddy Vanga, who has produced the film Arjun Reddy. He did his schooling from Platinum Jubilee High School, Warangal till class eight and then moved to Hyderabad to continue from class nine to class twelve. He received his bachelor's degree from SDM College of Physiotherapy, Dharwad.
After joining as an apprentice in Vizag, Vanga went to pursue at International Film School, Sydney (now known as AFTT – Academy of Film, Theatre & Television), Australia.[1][2]
Career
2005–2012: Early career
Vanga worked as an apprentice for the film Manasu Maata Vinadhu in 2005 for 25 days at Rushikonda Beach, Vizag. He worked for a few Tollywood films, including Kedi (2010) as an assistant director with Kiran Kumar and Malli Malli Idi Rani Roju (2015) as associate director with Kranthi Madhav. He started writing the script for a film titled Sugar Factory for his directorial debut, but he eventually shelved it and started writing the script of Arjun Reddy instead.
2013–2017: Directorial debut and recognition
Vanga started writing the script for Arjun Reddy in 2013 and finished it in two years. Producer Swapna Dutt and Sharwanand showed interest to produce and act in the film, however, it did not pan out as expected as Sharwanand had multiple projects in the queue at the time. He was introduced to Vijay Deverakonda by a common friend. He cast him as the lead for his directorial debut Arjun Reddy. The film was released on 25 August 2017 to critical acclaim and became a blockbuster hit. It was produced on a minuscule budget of ₹4-5 crores, but went on to gross more than ₹50 crores (US$8 million) at the box office.[3][4][5] However, during the release, it constantly ran into trouble with the censor board for the depiction of smoking and drug use. It also created a furor for its kissing scenes and poster, which were eventually approved by the Telangana Film Chamber. Senior political leader, V. Hanumantha Rao, raged over the positioning of the film to the audience. He went on to publicly peeling off the posters of the film, encouraging the audience to not entertain such films.
2018–present: Recent work
The next year, Vanga made a cameo appearance as Vedantam Raghavayya in the biographical film Mahanati. The same year, it was confirmed that Vanga himself will be directing the Hindi version of Arjun Reddy titled as Kabir Singh.[6] He signed up Shahid Kapoor as lead. Kiara Advani was roped for playing the female lead. The film was produced by Murad Khetani and Ashwin Warde and the rights to the original film were purchased for ₹15 million. The filming began in July 2018 and the movie was released on 21 June 2019 and became a major blockbuster success at the box office earning over 379 crores Worldwide and over 278 crores net domestically in India thus becoming part of the 200 crore club.
In January 2021, Vanga's next directorial titled Animal, a gangster film starring Ranbir Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, Bobby Deol and Rashmika Mandanna was announced. It was produced by T-Series, Bhadrakhali Pictures, and Cine1Studios.[7] His next directorial, Spirit, was announced in 2021 October. It will be starring Prabhas, in his 25th film, and produced jointly by T-Series and Bhadrakali Pictures.[8] Later he announced, his 5th directorial (set to take place after Spirit) in March 2023. The movie is set to star Allu Arjun, and produced jointly by T-Series and Bhadrakali Pictures.[9]
Personal life
Sandeep Reddy Vanga married Manisha in 2014. The couple has one son, Arjun reddy and one daughter.
Filmography
| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Language | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Arjun Reddy | Telugu | |
| 2019 | Kabir Singh | Hindi | Also co-editor Remake of his own film Arjun Reddy (2017) |
| 2023 | Animal | Hindi | Also editor and voice dubbing artist |
| 2025 | Spirit | Telugu | Also co-editor |
| TBA | Untitled film with Allu Arjun | Telugu | |
- Acting roles
- Kedi (2010) – Man in Black shirt in a Boat who gets killed by Police (start of the film).
- Mahanati (2018) – Vedantam Raghavayya
Accolades
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 7th South Indian International Movie Awards | Best Debut Director (Telugu) | Arjun Reddy | Won |
| Best Director (Telugu) | Nominated | |||
| 65th Filmfare Awards South | Best Director – Telugu | Nominated | ||
| 49th Cinegoers Awards | Best Debut Director | Won | ||
| 2019 | 26th Screen Awards | Best Director | Kabir Singh | Nominated |
| 21st IIFA Awards | Best Director | Nominated |
References
- ↑ "Sandeep Reddy Vanga in Much Demand". greatandhra.com. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
- ↑ "Director Manjunatha to watch out for!". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
- ↑ "Telugu film 'Arjun Reddy' reaches the Rs 50 crore club". The News Minute. 16 October 2017. Archived from the original on 6 February 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
- ↑ Jayakrishnan (10 September 2017). "Arjun Reddy box office collection week 2: Vijay Devarakonda starrer collects Rs 41.5 crore worldwide". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 2 April 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
- ↑ Dundoo, Sangeetha Devi (9 September 2017). "Three hours and a huge hit later". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 2 April 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
- ↑ "Vidya defends Kabir Singh". Asian Age. 17 February 2020.
- ↑ "Ranbir Kapoor to star in Sandeep Reddy Vanga's crime drama Animal". The Indian Express. 2 January 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
- ↑ "Spirit: Prabhas and Sandeep Reddy Vanga team up for #Prabhas25 with Bhushan Kumar". The Times of India. 7 October 2021.
- ↑ Ramachandran, Naman (3 March 2023). "Allu Arjun, Sandeep Reddy Vanga, Bhushan Kumar Team on New Indian Project (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 28 September 2023.