Teja (director)

Teja (born Jasti Dharma Teja; 22 February 1966) is an Indian director, cinematographer, screenwriter, and producer known for his work primarily in Telugu cinema.^[2][3] He is a recipient of a Nandi Award for Best Director and a Filmfare Award for Best Director – Telugu.^[4]

He began his career as a cinematographer with Ram Gopal Varma's bilingual film Raat (1992). He went on to work on over ten films in Hindi and Telugu, including Money (1993), Tere Mere Sapne (1996), Ghulam (1998), Sangharsh (1999), and Krodh (2000).^[5][6]

Teja transitioned to direction and initially gained recognition for making low-budget romantic dramas that became highly successful. He made his directorial debut with Chitram (2000), followed by Nuvvu Nenu (2001) and Jayam (2002), which earned him further acclaim.^[2][3] His other notable films include Avunanna Kaadanna (2005) and Nene Raju Nene Mantri (2017).

Teja was born on 22 February 1966 in Madras (now Chennai) of Tamil Nadu to an affluent family.^[7] His father J.B.K. Chowdhary was an industrialist and exporter, based primarily in Tokyo, Japan. Chowdhary suffered heavy losses in business which forced Teja to start working at an early age.^[8]

Teja identifies himself as anti-caste, anti-religion, and anti-region, which is why he has legally dropped his surname.^[1]

Teja started by doing any work he could get, and ended up working in Tamil film shoots as a lighting assistant. After working in lighting and sound departments he moved into the camera department and worked under Ravikant Nagaich, and W.B. Rao. He then took up assignments for documentaries presented in National Geographic Channel.^[9] He then joined the bandwagon of Bollywood.^[10] Teja also worked as a crew member in films such as Kshana Kshanam, Rangeela, Drohi, Antham, Gaayam, and Govinda Govinda.^[11]

Working as cinematographer, Teja used to frequently schedule Hindi film shoots in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh as to spend more time with his wife and son. Many schedules were planned in Ramoji Film City. Chitram, Teja's directorial debut was planned entirely in Ramoji Film City on budget of forty lakh rupees. The film became a huge hit and paved way for a variety of new age romantic films in Tollywood.^[12] Teja gained notability post the release of Nuvvu Nenu,^[13] an all-time blockbuster and one of year's highest grosser.^[14] The film received six Nandi Awards and had a total run of three seventy five days.^[15] The film was also remade in Hindi starring Tushar Kapoor and Anita Hassanandani.^[16][17][18]

Teja's next film was Nijam, was released in 2003 starring Mahesh Babu and Rakshitha in lead roles. Nijam was a low grosser at the box office but gained critical appraise. In the following year, Teja made Jai.^[19] Actor Navdeep debuted with the film, he was paired with Santhoshini and Ayesha Jhulka. The film had an average run.

Teja later directed Dhairyam and Avunanna Kaadanna, simultaneously. Halfway through Dhairyam's shoot, Teja dropped the project stating that the producer, N. Sudhakar Reddy, Nithiin's father, had changed and edited a part of the film without his consent. Teja returned his remuneration, arranged a press meet, and declared that he had nothing to do with the film. Dhairyam failed at the box office, whereas Avunanna Kadanna had a seventy-five-day run and was declared a hit.^[20][21]

Teja also set up Chitram movies distribution offices in Hyderabad and Vizag. He distributed films such as Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man 3, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift and many others in Telangana (Nizam) and other areas.^[22]

Aurov Teja, Teja's younger son, died of prolonged illness in Hyderabad on Saturday, 19 March 2011.^[23] Aurov had been suffering from breathing problems and cerebral palsy, caused by faulty medical procedures followed by the hospital at the time of birth. The baby was taken to Beijing, China, New York, United States and Berlin, Germany for medical treatment. On the morning of 19 March 2011, the baby's condition deteriorated and was pronounced dead at 12:11 local time.^[24][25][26]

• Filmfare Award for Best Director – Telugu - Nuvvu Nenu^[29]
• Nandi Award for Best Director – Nuvvu Nenu^[30]
• CineMAA Award for Best Director - Jayam^[31]

• Teja at IMDb