Puri Jagannadh

Puri Jagannadh (born September 28, 1966) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer who works primarily in Telugu cinema, alongside Hindi and Kannada films. He began his career in the film industry as an assistant director, working with Ram Gopal Varma on the Hindi film Shiva (1990). He made his directorial debut with the Telugu action drama Badri (2000), starring Pawan Kalyan, and directed Bachi (2000) that same year. In 2002, he directed the Kannada film Appu starring Puneeth Rajkumar, as well as its Telugu remake Idiot (2002). Throughout the 2000s and 2010s, Jagannadh wrote and directed commercial Telugu features including Itlu Sravani Subramanyam (2001), Amma Nanna O Tamila Ammayi (2003), Sivamani (2003), Super (2005), Pokiri (2006), Desamuduru (2007), Chirutha (2007), Bujjigadu (2008), Neninthe (2008), Golimaar (2010), Businessman (2012), Iddarammayilatho (2013), Heart Attack (2014), Temper (2015), and iSmart Shankar (2019). His work in Hindi cinema includes directing Shart: The Challenge (2004) and Bbuddah... Hoga Terra Baap (2011), while his original stories were adapted into films such as Pokkiri (2007) in Tamil, Wanted (2009) in Hindi, and Simmba (2018). In addition to directing, he established the production banners Vaishno Academy and Puri Connects, producing films including Idiot, Amma Nanna O Tamila Ammayi, Romantic (2021), Liger (2022), and Double iSmart (2024). He has also made brief on-screen appearances, including roles in Ye Maaya Chesave (2010), Temper (2015), and GodFather (2022).