Prasanth Varma

Prasanth Varma Penmetsa is an Indian film director and screenwriter who works in Telugu cinema. He is best known for directing Awe, Kalki (2019), Zombie Reddy (2021) and Hanu-Man (2024). The lattermost is his highest-grosser and has won the National Film Award for Best Film in AVGC. He is also the co-founder of Scriptsville, an organization dedicated to supporting screenwriting in Telugu cinema.

Early life Prasanth Varma was born on 29 May 1989 in Palakollu, Andhra Pradesh in a Telugu family, to Narayana Raju, a civil contractor, and Kanaka Durga, a government school teacher. He has a younger sister, Sneha Sameera. He attended Sri Saraswathi Sisu Mandir in Palakollu, where his education included an extra subject focusing on stories from the Itihasas, such as the Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Bhagavatham.

After completing his schooling, he graduated from CVR College of Engineering in 2010. Varma's passion for mythological stories is shared by his younger sister, Sneha Sameera, who is also part of his Scriptsville team. He then directed ad films and a few short films, including A Silent Melody (2014) and Dialogue in the Dark (2017). In 2015, he directed a five-episode web series, Not Out, starring Brian Lara, which premiered on YuppTV. In an interview with Idlebrain.com, Prasanth Varma named Singeetam Srinivasa Rao as his biggest inspiration, admiring how he never repeated himself in his work. He is also influenced by Christopher Nolan, K. Viswanath, and Mani Ratnam.

2018–present: Directorial debut and critical acclaim In 2017, Prashanth Varma presented the storyline of Awe to actor Nani, securing its production through Wall Poster Cinema alongside Prashanti Tipirneni. Released in 2018, the film marked his directorial debut and garnered acclaim for its subversive depiction of psychological and social issues, including child abuse, sexual abuse, and drug abuse. Critics, including Baradwaj Rangan, praised his narrative and direction, with special emphasis on the portrayal of lesbian characters in the movie. The film's success also highlighted Varma's ability to effectively integrate visual effects into storytelling, a skill he honed through hands-on experience in his early career. Kalki received mixed reviews from critics.

Prasanth Varma's third release was Zombie Reddy (2021), originally scheduled for 2020 but delayed due to the COVID-19 lockdown in India. Marketed as the first zombie film in Telugu, it received positive reviews and performed well at the box office. Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of The Hindu wrote that "In one stroke, director Prasanth Varma juxtaposes different worlds—a pandemic looming large, zombies, Rayalaseema faction rivalry—to hilarious effect"

On 29 May 2021, he announced his next film Hanu-Man. The film is marketed as the first Telugu Superhero film. Starring Teja Sajja as Hanumanthu and Amritha Aiyer as Meenakshi, the film was released on 12 January 2024, coinciding with Sankranti. It served as the first installment of the Prasanth Varma Cinematic Universe (PVCU), inspired by Indian mythology. The film received highly positive reviews for its direction, screenwriting, performances, visualization, background score, VFX, production design and action sequences. With a global box office gross of over ₹350 crore, it became the tenth highest-grossing Telugu film of all time.

Scriptsville In 2018, Prasanth Varma founded Scriptsville with his sister Sneha Sameera to enhance screenwriting in Telugu cinema. Scriptsville aims to help new and unrecognized writers gain recognition and proper credit.

Hanu-Man Devaki Nandana Vasudeva

Other works

Television