Mohan Krishna Indraganti is a popular Indian director who primarily works in the Telugu film industry. He made one of the most promising debuts in Telugu cinema with his debut directorial venture, Grahanam. The movie released in 2005 and it went on to become a blockbuster hit and won a National Award as well.
Early Life
Mohan Krishna Indraganti was born in Andhra Pradesh to Indraganti Srikanth and Janaki Bala. Both his parents and his grandfather Indraganti Hanumachchasthri being prolific writers, Mohan Krishna developed an interest in fiction during his early childhood days. As a child, he also loved discussing movies with his uncle and he attributes this to be one of the reasons he entered film-making.
Mohan Krishna Indraganti grew up and completed his schooling in Vijayawada. After completing his bachelor`s degree in Arts from Loyola college, he pursued master`s degree in English and Philosophy from the University of Hyderabad. After obtaining his master`s degree, he wanted to enter into film-making and for the same reason, he applied at the popular Film and Television Institute of India. However, much to his disappointment, his application was rejected.
At the same time, he also worked on a sociocultural, economic, and political study on the erstwhile state of Andhra, titled Mahandhra. The study was later made in a documentary for Doordarshan and was performed in commemoration of India`s 50th year of independence. He also sent a few creative samples from his study to the Department of Film in the Faculty of Fine Arts in York University. Owing to this, Mohan Krishna could pursue Masters of Fine Arts in Film from 1998 to 2000. Later, he also pursued a doctoral degree in Communication and Culture but did not complete it.
Filming Career
Though Mohan Krishna`s debut movie, Grahanam, was released in 2005, he wrote the first draft of the movie in 1997. The screenplay was based on Doshagunam, a short story written by one of the controversial yesteryear Telugu writers, Gudipati Venkatachalam. Being an amateur writer, his screenplay couldn`t impress anyone. However, his study in the first year at the York University helped him understand the nitty-gritty of screenplay writing.
After he returned to Hyderabad from York University, Mohan Krishna reworked on the script. Although many of the producers whom he approached gave him positive feedback on his script, none of them backed the commercial viability of the script. For over three years he struggled to find a producer and then decided to fund his own movie. Soon, he approached the veteran Telugu actor
Tanikella Bharani for the role in the movie and also requested him to work without any compensation. After agreeing to work in the film, Tanikella Bharani introduced Mohan Krishna to one his producer friends. This paved way for his first movie, which went on to win 11 awards including the coveted National Film Award, Nandi Award, and Gollapudi Shrinivas Memorial Award.
In 2006, Mohan Krishna directed his second movie, Mayabazaar, which featured
Raja Abel and
Bhumika Chawla. In 2008, he directed the movie
Ashta Chamma, which is based on
Oscar Wilde`s play, The Importance of Being Earnest. The movie had
Colours Swathi,
Bhargavi,
Nani, and
Srinivas Avasarala in the lead roles. Artbeat Capital, which had produced his second movie, funded for Mohan Krishna`s next movie as well.
Golconda High School, his third movie, a Telugu sports drama, was released in 2011, with a heartwarming applause at the box office. Mohan Krishna followed this up with another brilliant movie,
Anthaku Mundu Aa Taruvatha, a romantic drama. The film starring
Sumanth Ashwin and debutante
Eesha turned was a blockbuster and also completed a 50-day run at the box office.
In 2015, Mohan Krishna directed the movie
Bandipotu, which received mixed reviews and was an average hit. However, he once again impressed the audience with his next movie,
Gentleman (2016), a romantic thriller that was a huge hit. The lead actor
Nani was highly praised by the critics along with the brilliant screenplay by Mohan Krishna. The following year he directed the movie
Ami Thumi (2017) starring
Eesha Rebba and
Adivi Sesh.