Merlapaka Gandhi

Merlapaka Gandhi (born Merlapaka Che Guevara) is an Indian film director and screenwriter who works primarily in Telugu cinema. In 2013, he made his directorial debut with Venkatadri Express. He later directed Express Raja, and Krishnarjuna Yudham (2018) starring Nani.

Early life Merlapaka was born in the village of Vedulla Cheruvu near Renigunta, Andhra Pradesh in a Telugu-speaking family. His father Merlapaka Murali was a Telugu language novelist and a contemporary of author Yandamuri Veerendranath.

Merlapaka was schooled in Tirupati and graduated with a Bachelor of Technology from Allagadda. Later on, he started writing stories and directed a short film.

With no prior film experience, Gandhi created his short film Karmara Devuda which won for 'best film' when presented at the 2011-2012 Hyderabad Short Film Festival. The film was positively reviewed by Harish Shankar on Idle Brain in November 2013. Gandhi then shared the concept for his comedy film Venkatadri Express to Sundeep Kishan, who was impressed and subsequently arranged a producer for the film.

Filmography

Year Film Director WriterNotes2013 Venkatadri Express Directorial debut 2016 Express Raja 2018 Krishnarjuna Yudham 2021 Ek Mini Katha Maestro 2022 Like, Share & Subscribe 2026 Korean Kanakaraju