Sandeep Reddy Vanga

Sandeep Reddy Vanga is an Indian film director, screenwriter and editor known for his works in Telugu and Hindi cinema. He is known for his gritty and intense dramas, with a blend of dark psychological themes and complex characters. Vanga made his screenwriting and directing debut with the 2017 Telugu-language romantic drama film Arjun Reddy. It was a critical and commercial success, gaining him recognition especially among youth. He continued his success with its Hindi-language remake, Kabir Singh (2019), which went on to become one of the highest-grossing Hindi films of all time. Vanga's prominence increased with the Hindi-language action-drama film Animal (2023), which broke several box office records and emerged as the 9th highest-grossing Indian film and the highest-grossing A rated Indian film of all time.

Early life
Sandeep Vanga was born in a Telugu family, in Warangal, Telangana. He did his early schooling at Platinum Jubilee High School, Warangal, and moved to Hyderabad after class 8 standard for his further education. He earned a Bachelors degree in physiotherapy. He later went on to pursue filmmaking at an International Film School in Sydney, Australia.

2005–2012: Early career
Vanga worked as an apprentice for the film Manasu Maata Vinadhu in 2005 for 25 days at Rushikonda Beach, Vizag. He worked for a few Tollywood films, including Kedi (2010) as an assistant director with Kiran Kumar and Malli Malli Idi Rani Roju (2015) as an associate director with Kranthi Madhav. He started writing the script for a film titled Sugar Factory for his directorial debut, but he eventually shelved it and started writing the script of Arjun Reddy instead.

2013–2017: Directorial debut and recognition
Vanga started writing the script for Arjun Reddy in 2013 and finished it in two years. Producer Swapna Dutt and Sharwanand showed interest to produce and act in the film, however, it did not pan out as expected as Sharwanand had multiple projects in the queue at the time. He was introduced to Vijay Deverakonda by a common friend. He cast him as the lead for his directorial debut Arjun Reddy. The film was released on 25 August 2017 to critical acclaim and became a blockbuster hit. It was produced on a minuscule budget of ₹4–5 crores, but went on to gross more than ₹50 crores (US$8 million) at the box office. However, during the release, it constantly ran into trouble with the censor board for the depiction of smoking and drug use. It also created a furor for its kissing scenes and poster, which were eventually approved by the Telangana Film Chamber. Senior political leader, V. Hanumantha Rao, raged over the positioning of the film to the audience. He went on to publicly peeling off the posters of the film, encouraging the audience to not entertain such films.

2019–present: Widespread success
Vanga himself agreed to direct the Hindi version of Arjun Reddy titled Kabir Singh. He signed up Shahid Kapoor as the lead. Kiara Advani was roped into playing the female lead. The film was produced by Murad Khetani and Ashwin Warde, and the rights to the original film were purchased for ₹15 million. The filming began in July 2018 and the movie was released on 21 June 2019. It became a major blockbuster success at the box office, earning over inr 3790000000 worldwide and over inr 2780000000 net domestically in India.

On 1 January 2021, Vanga's next directorial titled Animal, an action drama film starring Ranbir Kapoor in lead was announced. It was produced by T-Series, Bhadrakhali Pictures, and Cine1Studios. Animal released on 1 December 2023. It received mixed response from the critics and grossed over inr 9000000000 worldwide. Emerged as a major commercial success becoming the third highest-grossing Indian film of 2023, the eighth highest-grossing Indian film, and the highest-grossing A-rated Indian film of all time.

His next directorial, Spirit, was announced in October 2021. It will star Prabhas, in his 25th film, and produced jointly by T-Series and Bhadrakali Pictures. Later, he announced, his 5th directorial in March 2023. The film is set to star Allu Arjun, and produced jointly by T-Series and Bhadrakali Pictures.

Personal life
Sandeep Reddy Vanga is married to Manisha Reddy. The couple were blessed with two kids, a daughter and a son in 2014. Vanga stated that he named his son, Arjun Reddy after the protagonist of his first film.

Filmography
Acting roles

Controversy
Vanga's films have been widely accused of allegedly glorifying misogynistic themes and elements. He has been defended by filmmakers such as Ram Gopal Varma, Anurag Kashyap, Vikram Bhatt, and Sanjay Gupta as well as actresses Rashmika Mandanna, Tanishaa Mukerji, Sargun Mehta, Indira Krishnan, and Bhumi Pednekar. Kashyap in particular has remained vocal about defending him and Animal because he himself faced similar challenges following the release of his own films Dev.D, That Girl in Yellow Boots and Bombay Velvet.