# Tharun Bhascker

Tharun Bhascker Dhaassyam (born 5 November 1988) is an Indian film director, actor and screenwriter who works in Telugu cinema. He directed the romantic comedy Pelli Choopulu (2016), which won him the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu and Best Screenplay – Dialogues. He later directed Ee Nagaraniki Emaindhi (2018), and made his acting debut in a lead role with Meeku Maathrame Cheptha (2019).

## Early life

Tharun Bhascker was born on 5 November 1988 in Madras (now Chennai) and was raised in Hyderabad. His father hailed from Warangal, Telangana, while his mother is from Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh. Bhasckar studied at Hyderabad Public School, and Swami Vivekananda Institute of Technology. He later graduated from New York Film Academy.
His father, Uday Bhaskar, died in 2015. His mother, Geetha Bhaskar, made her acting debut in Sekhar Kammula's Fidaa (2017).

## Film career

Bhascker started his career directing short films such as Anukokunda, and Sainma. Anukokunda was screened at the Cannes Film Festival.
His first full length directorial feature film was Pelli Choopulu (2016). The film received National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu, and Bhasckar won Best Screenplay for Dialogues. The film was remade in Hindi as Mitron (2018), in Malayalam as Vijay Superum Pournamiyum (2019), and in Tamil as Oh Manapenne.
In 2018, Bhasckar made his acting debut with the role of Singeetham Srinivasa Rao in the biopic Mahanati. His second directorial is the buddy comedy film Ee Nagaraniki Emaindhi (2018). Later in the year, he wrote the screenplay for the ZEE5 web series, B. Tech.
In 2019, Bhaskar played the lead role in Meeku Maathrame Cheptha.
Keedaa Cola, directed by Tharun Bhascker, was released on November 3, 2023.

## Personal life

Bhasckar is married to Latha Naidu. She is a production and costume designer for films and advertisements. She worked for films such as Pelli Choopulu, Ee Nagaraniki Emaindi and U Turn.

## Filmography
### Film

Key :
| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Notes |
| 2016 | Pelli Choopulu | Yes | Yes | National Film Award for Best Screenplay |
| 2018 | Ee Nagaraniki Emaindi | Yes | Yes | |
| 2019 | Meeku Maathrame Cheptha | No | Dialogues | |
| 2021 | Pitta Kathalu | Yes | Yes | Netflix anthology film; Ramula segment |
| 2022 | Oke Oka Jeevitham | No | Dialogues | |
| 2022 | Ori Devuda | No | Dialogues | |
| 2023 | Keedaa Cola | Yes | Yes | |

#### As actor

Acting roles :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2018 | Mahanati | Singeetam Srinivasa Rao | |
| 2018 | Sammohanam | Himself | Cameo appearance |
| 2019 | Falaknuma Das | Saidulu | |
| 2019 | Meeku Maathrame Cheptha | Rakesh | |
| 2020 | Middle Class Melodies | AE | Cameo appearance |
| 2021 | Skylab | Scientist | Cameo appearance |
| 2022 | Sita Ramam | Balaji | |
| 2023 | Das Ka Dhamki | Blue Jaguar guy | |
| 2023 | Hostel Boys | Editor | Telugu version |
| 2023 | Keedaa Cola | Bhakta Naidu | |
| 2023 | Mangalavaaram | Cameo appearance in song | |
| 2024 | Masthu Shades Unnai Raa | Veer Das | |

#### Short films

| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Notes |
| 2008 | Wake up | Yes | Yes | |
| 2008 | HELP | Yes | Yes | |
| 2008 | My India | Yes | Yes | |
| 2009 | We Can-Blind Cricket | Yes | Yes | |
| 2009 | The Artist's Poem | Yes | Yes | |
| 2010 | HPS.wmv | Yes | Yes | |
| 2011 | Highderabad | Yes | Yes | |
| 2011 | This day-Catharsis | Yes | Yes | |
| 2011 | 24 frames-Telugu version | Yes | Yes | |
| 2011 | The Method | Yes | Yes | |
| 2011 | Minutes to midnight | Yes | Yes | |
| 2011 | Serendipity | Yes | Yes | By Team |
| 2011 | Kaala Ghoda | Yes | Yes | |
| 2011 | The Journey | Yes | Yes | |
| 2012 | Junun | Yes | Yes | |
| 2012 | Anukokunda | Yes | Yes | |
| 2015 | Sainma | Yes | Yes | |
| 2018 | Maa | No | Dialogues | Telugu version |

#### As voice actor

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2023 | Chinna | Venkatesh | Dubbed in Telugu for Baalaji S. U. in Chithha |
| 2024 | Gorre Puranam | Gorre/Sheep | Voice role only |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Network | Notes |
| 2018 | B. Tech | | ZEE5 | Writer |
| 2020 | Neeku Maathrame Cheptha | Host | ETV Plus | |
| 2023 | Anger Tales | Rajeev | Disney+ Hotstar | Episode: Food Festival |
| 2023 | Dhootha | Bhupati Varma Avudhuri | Amazon Prime Video | |

## Discography

| Year | Film | Song | Music | Co-artists | Notes |
| 2021 | Cinema Bandi | "Cinema Teesinam" | Varun Reddy | Roll Rida | also lyrics |

## Awards and nominations

| Film | Award | Ceremony | Category | Result |
| Pelli Choopulu | National Film Awards | 2017 | National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu | Won |
| Pelli Choopulu | National Film Awards | 2017 | Best Screenplay for Dialogues | Won |
| Pelli Choopulu | Filmfare Awards South | 2017 | Best Director | Nominated |
| Pelli Choopulu | South Indian International Movie Awards | 2017 | Best Debut Director (Telugu) | Won |
| Pelli Choopulu | Santosham Film Awards | 2017 | Best Debut Director | Won |