Suresh Krishna

Suresh Krissna (born 25 June 1959) is an Indian film director who has directed Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, and Hindi-language films. His first independent film as a director was Sathyaa, with Kamal Haasan. He is well known for having directed Rajinikanth in four films which include, Annaamalai (1992), Veera (1994), Baashha (1995) and Baba (2002).

Early life and career Suresh was born to R. Krishna and K. Sharada in Bombay. He has two brothers, Sreeram and Satheesh, and one sister, actress Shanthi Krishna.

He spent his early career in Mumbai. After completing his graduation in economics he joined the Mumbai office of L. V. Prasad for accounts management. Later he became an executive assistant to L. V. Prasad and also took care of the Prasad Productions Mumbai office. When L. V. Prasad started production of Ek Duuje Ke Liye (1981), directed by K. Balachander, he assisted Prasad Productions on location. After completion of the film he went on to work for K. Balachander first assisting in Thaneer Thaneer (1981). Later he was elevated to associate director status in Achamillai Achamillai (1984).

Suresh first Independent directorial film was Sathyaa (1988) starring Kamal Haasan which was a remake of the Hindi movie Arjun starring Sunny Deol. In 1989, he received the Nandi Award for Best Director for Prema. Suresh Krissna became famous after he worked with Rajinikanth in the 1992 movie Annaamalai. The movie became successful at the box office with a 175-day run. In 1995, Rajnikanth and Suresh Krissna paired up once again for the movie Baashha, which received an appraisal and it broke Annamalai's record at the Box Office. The movie is considered as one of the breaking points in Rajinikanth's career. In 2001, Suresh Krissna directed a Telugu movie, Daddy in which he worked with Chiranjeevi. In 2002, he began working on a film titled Vamana featuring Ajith Kumar, Reema Sen and Sneha. Despite the beginning production, the film was later stalled.

Suresh Krissna has directed movies like Baba (2002), Rocky – The Rebel (2006), Ilaignan (2011) and Katari Veera Surasundarangi (2012). In 2012, Suresh Krissna published a book called 'My Days with Baashha, in which the director has penned down his memories of making super hit films with Rajnikanth. Rajnikanth in an interview said that directors Suresh Krissna and Mani Ratnam are the ones who made him a Superstar.

He has directed films in many languages starring leading heroes like Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Chiranjeevi, Venkatesh, Nagarjuna, Mohanlal, Vishnuvardhan and Salman Khan. Suresh Krissna, who has directed about 40 films so far, has also directed series on leading television channels like Sun TV and Vijay TV. He directed the Mahabharatham (2013) serial on Sun TV. Suresh Krissna is getting into the web series space with In the Name of God (2021), to be streamed in Telugu, which he has produced. He made his comeback as director with the films Anantha and Charukesi both released in 2026.

Filmography Films Year Title Language Notes 1988 Sathyaa Tamil 1989 Prema Telugu Dubbed in Tamil as Anbu ChinnamRemade in Hindi as Love Indrudu Chandrudu Dubbed in Tamil as Indran ChandranDubbed in Hindi as Mayor Saab 1990 Raja Kaiya Vacha Tamil 1991 Amma Telugu Love Hindi 1992 Sahasam Telugu Jaagruti Hindi Annaamalai Tamil Vasundhara Telugu Nandi Award for Second Best Story Writer 1993 Vedan Tamil Rojavai Killathe 1994 Veera 1995 Baashha 1996 The Prince Malayalam Dharma Chakram Telugu Sivasakthi Tamil 1997 Master Telugu Aahaa..! Tamil 1998 Auto Driver Telugu Aaha..! Remake of Tamil film Aahaa..! 1999 Oruvan Tamil Sangamam 2000 Rayalaseema Ramanna Chowdary Telugu 2001 Daddy 2001 Aalavandhan Tamil Simultaneously made in Hindi as Abhay. 2002 Baba 2003 Idi Maa Ashokgadi Love Story Telugu Raghavendra Kadamba Kannada 2004 Bhadradri Ramudu Telugu Gajendra Tamil 2005 Jyeshta Kannada 2006 Astram Telugu Rocky – The Rebel Hindi 2007 Parattai Engira Azhagu Sundaram Tamil 2009 Mestri Telugu 2009 Arumugam Tamil 2011 Ilaignan 2012 Katari Veera Surasundarangi Kannada Nominated, SIIMA Award for Best Director2026 AnanthaTamil Charukesi

Television

Assistant Director

Awards Kalaimamani Honour by Tamil Nadu Government

2014 - Contribution to Film Direction