Sukumar, the Maverick Filmmaker Whose Students Become Hit Directors

Director Sukumar has been considered a maverick. His journey from ‘Arya’ to the pan-India blockbuster ‘Pushpa’ has been illustrious. He is less than ten films old but he is easily one of the few super-talented pan-India directors out there. ‘Pushpa: The Rule’ has been made on a massive scale. He has worked with some of the biggest and most talented heroes and technicians.

There is an underrated aspect of Sukumar’s career. Many of his assistants have proved themselves by becoming directors of hit movies in recent years.

This week, the stupendous success of ‘Dasara’ has seen debutant director Srikanth Odela receive everyone’s appreciation. He worked with Sukumar on ‘Nannaku Prematho’ and ‘Rangasthalam’. With many comparing the atmospherics and writing of ‘Dasara’ with ‘Rangasthalam’, the impact of Sukumar is obvious.

In 2021, the first major hit after the first lockdown was ‘Uppena’. Its director, Buchi Babu Sana, is indebted to Sukumar for the lessons he learned from his ‘guru’. Buchi Babu is now going to do a film with Mega Power Star Ram Charan. It will be a pan-India film.

Then we have Palnati Surya Pratap. This talented director was once Sukumar’s AD. ‘Kumar 21F’ and ’18 Pages’ are his hit movies.

Jakka Hari Prasad of ‘Darsakudu’ fame proved with ‘Playback’ that he can think in novel ways.

Vemareddy, also a Sukumar protege, is planning to wield the megaphone for an important project soon.

Finally, there is happening writer Srikanth Vissa, who has worked on the ‘Pushpa’ films and ’18 Pages’. “I learned about being diligent from Sukumar garu,” he recently said in an interview.