VV Vinayak is an Indian film director, screenwriter, writer, and actor who has worked in many films. He is one of the most famous directors in Tollywood. In 2023, he entered Bollywood with his directorial venture Chatrapathi. He is considered to be one of the first directors to include car flip scenes in his films.
Wiki/Biography
Gandrothu Veera Venkata Vinayaka Rao aka VV Vinayak Rao (also spelled as VV Vinayak) was born in Chagallu village in West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh. According to one source, he was born on Thursday, October 9, 1969 (age 53 years; in 2022), and according to another source, he was born on Wednesday, October 9, 1974 (age 48 years; in 2022). His zodiac sign is Libra. He completed his schooling up to middle school in his grandmother’s village Dommeru. He was interested in movies since childhood and watched a lot of movies in his father’s cinema. After completing his schooling, he convinced his father and ventured into filmmaking by moving to Chennai. He later worked on many Telugu films.
Physical appearance
Height (approx): 5′ 8″
Weight (approx): 75 kg
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Dark Brown
Family
He belongs to a Hindu family.
Parents & Siblings
His father’s name is Krishna Rao, and his mother’s name is G.Nagarathnam. His father is a member of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Sarpanch of his village; she died in 2010. Her mother was a housewife who died in 2014. She has two younger brothers and three younger sisters. One of his brothers is named Surender who is a politician and member of YSR Congress. One of his brothers committed suicide.
VV Vinayak with his father Krishna Rao
VV Vinayak with his mother, G.Nagarathnam
Wife & Children
His wife’s name is Anantha Lakshmi Satyavathi. The couple has a son named Kundan Krishna and a daughter named Hasini Krishna.
VV Vinayak with his wife, Anantha Lakshmi Satyavathi
Other relatives
His grandmother’s name was Chevvuri Venkata Rao.
Career
Film Assistant
In 1993, he started working as an assistant under the famous film director EVV Satyanarayana and worked on the film Abbayigaru. He later worked under director Sagar and worked in many films including Amma Donga in 1995. In 2000, he worked as an assistant under director SV Krishna Reddy in the film Sakutumba Saparivara Sametam. He also worked under director Kranthi Kumar in the film 9 Nelalu in 2000.
VV Vinayak (second from left) during his early days as a different assistant director
He worked as a co-director with Bellamkonda Suresh, for Rs 10,000, in the film Varma Garu Bewarse Gaadu, which was later shelved; however, Suresh is impressed with Vinayak and promises to make him a director. He then met film producer Nallamalupu Bujji and told him a story, which Bujji liked, and he took Vinayak to Switzerland for a song shoot for his film Cheppalani Vundi, where he met NT Rama Rao Jr. who eventually acted in Vinayak’s debut film. NTR initially gave Vinayak 20 minutes to narrate the story of the film; however, he became so intrigued that he listened to the story for 1.5 hours.
VV Vinayak (right) with NT Rama Rao Jr.
Director, Writer, & Screenwriter
His debut film as a director and writer was the 2002 action drama film Aadi featuring NT Rama Rao Jr. and Keerthi Chawla in the lead role. The film was a big hit at the box office, and critics praised his directorial skills. His debut film as a director and screenwriter was Tagore in 2003 which featured Chiranjeevi, Jyothika, Prakash Raj, and Shriya Saran in the lead roles.
VV Vinayak (extreme right) with Ram Charan (second from right) and Chiranjeevi (third from right)
VV Vinayak (standing) with Ram Charan during the shooting of the film Naayak
He later directed many hit films including Bunny in 2005 featuring Allu Arjun, Lakshmi in 2006 featuring Venkatesh, Yogi in 2007 featuring Prabhas and Nayanthara, Krishna in 2010 featuring Ravi Teja and Trisha, Adhurs in 2010 featuring Jr., NT Na Rayayako. 2010 featuring Ram Charan and Kajal Aggarwal, and Khaidi No. 150 in 2017 featuring Chiranjeevi and Kajal Aggarwal.
VV Vinayak (left) with Prabhas
VV Vinayak during a film shoot
VV Vinayak (centre) with Kajal Aggarwal (left)
In 2014, he directed the film Alludu Seenu which was the debut film of Bellamkonda Sreenivas, son of famous film producer Bellamkonda Suresh, who produced Vinayak’s directorial debut Aadi. He took a break after 2018 and returned in 2023 with the Hindi film Chatrapathi featuring Bellamkonda Sreenivas and Nushrratt Bharuccha in lead roles.
VV Vinayak’s first Bollywood movie poster, Chatrapathi
Bhagyasri, Bellamkonda Sreenivas, VV Vinayak, Nushrratt Bharuccha and Jayantilal Gada (left to right) at the trailer launch of Chatrapathi
Actor
She made her debut in the 2003 film Tagore and did a cameo appearance as Gopi. In 2019, it was announced that she will play the lead role in Dil Raju’s Seenayya; however, the project was later shelved. He mostly made cameo appearances in many films.
Photo of VV Vinayak training in the gym for his lead role in the movie Dil Raju
Awards, Honors, Achievements
- Nandi Award for Best Director’s Debut Film for Aadi in 2002
- Santhosham Best Commercial Director Award for Krishna in 2008
Balakrishna (right) presents the Santhosham Best Commercial Director award to VV Vinayak for the film Krishna in 2008
- Nominated for the Best Director award at the 3rd South Indian International Film Awards for Naayak in 2014
Car Collection
He owns a Jaguar luxury car and a Toyota Fortuner SUV.
Facts/Trivia
- He owns many properties including a mansion and a theater. His father named one of his seven theaters after him, Veera Venkata Vinayaka Talkies.
- In 2013, he directed a film on organ donation titled Jeevandan.
- He wrote the entire script for his debut film Aadi in 48 hours. In the film, his name was credited as Vinay as many people did not recognize him when he started using his full name VV Vinayak. The film was initially titled Sree and was shot in 54 days.
VV Vinayak with NT Rama Rao Jr during the shooting of the movie Aadi
- In 2019, he accepted an offer to contest the elections on a YSR Congress ticket; however, he rejected the offer because he did not want to run in the election.
- He shares a brotherly bond with Chiranjeevi and often calls him brother. He has also served as the President of Chiranjeevi Fans Association Club.
VV Vinayak (left) with Chiranjeevi during the shooting of Khaidi No. 150
- In June 2019, his house in Narsingi was demolished by the authorities because he had permission for a G+2 floor; however, he built a G+6 floor. Notices were also sent to him before that, but he did not respond to any of the notices.
- He considers Ram Gopal Varma, Raghavendra Rao, and SS Rajamouli as his biggest influences when he started working in Tollywood.
VV Vinayak (left) with Raghavendra Rao, one of his mentors
VV Vinayak (right) with SS Rajamouli
- In an interview, he called his film Badrinath, which featured Allu Arjun and Tamannaah, the most difficult film to shoot as the film was shot in hilly areas.
VV Vinayak (centre) with Allu Arjun and Tamannaah during the shooting of Badrinath
Categories: Biography
Source: SCHOOL TRANG DAI
