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Sudha Kongara
Kongara at Irudhi Suttru thanksgiving meet in 2016
Born	Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, India
Other names	Sudha Kongara Prasad
Alma mater	Women's Christian College, Chennai
Occupation	Film director Screenwriter
Years active	2002–present

Sudha Kongara Prasad, known professionally as Sudha Kongara, is an Indian film director and screenwriter who predominantly works in Tamil. She made her directorial debut with the Tamil film Drohi. In 2016, she directed the bilingual Irudhi Suttru (Saala Khadoos in Hindi) for which she won the Filmfare Award for Best Director – Tamil. She subsequently directed the film's Telugu remake, Guru (2017). In her career, working over 3 languages, she has won two National Film Awards, two Filmfare Awards South, two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards and two SIIMA Awards.

In 2020, she scripted, and directed Soorarai Pottru. It was featured in the Panorama Section of the Shanghai International Film Festival. At the 68th National Film Awards, it won five awards including Best Feature Film, and Best Screenplay for Sudha Kongara.

Early life

Sudha Kongara was born in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, into a Telugu-speaking family. Sudha grew up in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. She obtained a degree in History and Mass Communication from the Women's Christian College, Chennai.

Career

Kongara worked as a screenwriter for the English film Mitr, My Friend (2002). She worked as associate director for seven years with Mani Ratnam.

During the production of her first Tamil directorial venture Drohi (2010), Kongara began writing a sports drama film on boxing which was titled Irudhi Suttru. In mid-2013, she approached Madhavan, who was on a sabbatical from Tamil films, to portray the lead role in the film and his presence in the project, helped take the financial viability of the venture to a higher level. The pair had previously collaborated in Madhavan's films under the direction of Mani Ratnam, where Sudha had been an associate director. Madhavan portrayed a boxing coach who mentors an amateur boxer, played by kick boxer turned actress Ritika Singh. The film was simultaneously shot in Hindi as Saala Khadoos. She also directed the Telugu remake Guru (2017), with Singh reprising her role and Venkatesh playing Madhavan's.

Her next film was Soorarai Pottru (2020), which is based on life of Air Deccan founder Captain GR Gopinath feature and it is produced by Suriya's 2D Entertainment and co-produced by Guneet Monga of Sikhya Entertainment. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the film released straight to streaming on Prime Video. It received critical acclaim and won 5 National Film Awards. She also directed the Hindi remake Sarfira (2024), starring Akshay Kumar.

Kongara's upcoming project is based on the 1965 anti Hindi protests in Tamil Nadu. Suriya was originally set to collaborate with Kongara again, but now the film will likely star Sivakarthikeyan, alongside Vijay Varma and Nazriya Nazim.

Filmography

References

1. ^ "It was a struggle to make 'Saala Khadoos': Director Sudha Kongara Prasad". The Indian Express. 26 January 2016.
2. "Changing gears successfully". The Hindu. 3 September 2002. Archived from the original on 7 May 2005. Retrieved 13 August 2006.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
3. "68th National Film Awards". The Hindu. 22 July 2022. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
4. Prema and Sudha Kongara (10 November 2020). Sudha Kongara with prema the Journalist - Full Interview #75. PREMA the Journalist. Event occurs at 10m5s.
5. B, Jayabhuvaneshwari (5 July 2021). "All You Need To Know About The Soorarai Pottru Director Sudha Kongara!". Just for Women.
6. "Sudha Kongara made her film debut with Mitr- My Friend". The Times of India.
7. Rangarajan, Malathi (10 September 2010). "Intriguing features". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X.
8. "The girl brigade of Tamil cinema - Behindwoods.com - Tamil Movie Slide Shows - Drohi - Sudha - Anjana - Suhasini Mani Ratnam - Revathy - Priya - Madhumita - J S Nandhini".
9. "Saala Khadoos Director on Mani Ratnam and Rajkumar Hirani". NDTVMovies.com.
10. Vadla, Praveen Kumar (20 November 2020). "Sudha Kongara: ఎక్కడ మొదలై.. ఎక్కడి వరకు.. సుధా కొంగర సక్సెస్ జర్నీ." News18 Telugu.
11. Gupta, Rinku (16 December 2014). "Madhavan's New Boxer Look Revealed". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
12. "Hollywood Ho! - Hosur". The Hindu. 29 September 2013. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
13. "Suriya's next with director Sudha Kongara titled 'Soorarai Pottru'". The News Minute. 13 April 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
14. "Suriya is best actor in our country: Guneet Monga". The New Indian Express. 16 April 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
15. "Sudha Kongara will revive 'Purnanooru' with these two stars". Times of India. 1 July 2024.
16. "SK25: Sudha Kongara to helm Sivakarthikeyan's upcoming movie, likely after his next with Don director Cibi Chakravarthy". Pinkvilla. 24 July 2024.
17. "Sudha Kongara Andhra Andagadu: నేష‌న‌ల్ అవార్డ్ విన్నింగ్ డైరెక్ట‌ర్ సుధా కొంగ‌ర ఫ‌స్ట్‌ మూవీలో కృష్ణ భ‌గ‌వాన్ హీరో".

External links

• Sudha Kongara at IMDb

• Living people
• Telugu screenwriters
• Telugu film producers
• Tamil film directors
• Telugu film directors
• Indian women film directors
• Hindi-language film directors
• Indian women screenwriters
• Tamil screenwriters
• Film directors from Andhra Pradesh
• 21st-century Indian women artists
• Filmfare Awards South winners
• Women writers from Andhra Pradesh
• 21st-century Indian screenwriters
• 1971 births
• Directors who won the Best Feature Film National Film Award
• 21st-century Indian women writers
• Screenwriters from Vijayawada
• South Indian International Movie Awards winners
• Telugu women film directors