# Sandeep Reddy Vanga

Sandeep Reddy Vanga (25 December 1981) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and editor known for his works in Hindi and Telugu 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. 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. Kabir Singh also became the first A-certified Indian film to gross over ₹300 crore in India.
Vanga's prominence increased with the Hindi-language action-drama film Animal (2023), which generally received mixed reviews from the critics. Nevertheless the film became a huge commercial success, 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. For Animal, Vanga was nominated for Best Director, Best Screenplay writer and Best Editor at 69th Filmfare Awards.

## Early life

Sandeep Reddy 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 bachelor's degree in physiotherapy. later went on to pursue filmmaking at an International Film School in Sydney, Australia.

## Career
### 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 (2017), titled Kabir Singh (2019). Shahid Kapoor was signed in as the eponymous protagonist, while Kiara Advani was roped into playing the female lead. The film was produced by Murad Khetani and Ashwin Warde, who bought the rights to the original film for ₹15 million. The filming began in October 2018, wrapped up in March 2019, and the movie was released on 21 June of the same year. Despite its controversial depictions of drug abuse and toxic relationships, it went on to earn over ₹379 crore (US$43 million) worldwide and over ₹278 crore (US$32 million) net domestically in India, becoming the second highest-grossing Bollywood film of 2019, and Shahid Kapoor's highest-grossing solo-lead release.
On 1 January 2021, Vanga's next directorial titled Animal, an action drama film starring Ranbir Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, Rashmika Mandanna and Bobby Deol was announced. It was produced by T-Series, Bhadrakhali Pictures, and Cine1Studios. Animal released on 1 December 2023, it made Vanga a household name in Telugu and Hindi cinema. Animal received positive response from the critics, with praise going towards its performances, music, and technical aspects. The film was major commercial success, grossing over ₹900 crore (US$100 million) worldwide, 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.A sequel titled Animal Park was teased in the post-credits scene of the film, whose shooting will commence between 2026 and 2027. At 69th Filmfare Awards, Animal received 19 nominations including Best Film, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor for Anil Kapoor and Bobby Deol both. It won in six category, including Best Actor for Ranbir Kapoor, Best Background Score for Harshvardhan Rameshwar and Best Playback Singer for Bhupinder Babbal. At 24th IIFA Awards, the film was nominated in several categories, won for the Best Film of the year.
His next directorial, an intense Crime Action Thriller Film titled Spirit (2026), was announced in 7 October 2021 starring Prabhas, his first collaboration with Vanga, produced jointly by T-Series and Prabhas to play the role and fictional character of Assistant Commissioner of Police Officer Arjun Singh Chauhan and Bhadrakali Pictures is set to release dated in 2026.

## Filmmaking style

Vanga crafts the scenes and shaping the character with complex heroic undertones with a blend of dark psychological themes and his lead character is often interpreted as misogynistic. His debut film Arjun Reddy was described by The Times of India as a trendsetter which reinvented the love-tragedy genre. While making action-drama Animal (2023), Vanga cited the influence of The Godfather and Kill Bill. He himself considers Arjun Reddy and Kabir Singh; love stories, Animal; a family drama, and his next upcoming film titled Spirit, his venture into the more commercial action genre.
Vanga's films have been commercially successful but it's matter of debate in media that his films have been 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.

## Personal life

Sandeep Reddy Vanga is married to Manisha Reddy. The couple has 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

List of directorial feature films :
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Editor | Language |
| 2017 | Arjun Reddy | Yes | Yes | No | Telugu |
| 2019 | Kabir Singh | Yes | Yes | Yes | Hindi |
| 2023 | Animal | Yes | Yes | Yes | Hindi |
Acting roles
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2010 | Kedi | Man on a boat | Uncredited |
| 2018 | Mahanati | Vedantam Raghavayya | |
| 2023 | Animal | Aziz Haque | Voice only |

## Awards and nominations

List of Sandeep Reddy Vanga awards and nominations :
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Film | Result |
| 2018 | 7th South Indian International Movie Awards | Best Debut Director (Telugu) | Arjun Reddy | Won |
| 2018 | 7th South Indian International Movie Awards | Best Director (Telugu) | Arjun Reddy | Nominated |
| 2018 | 65th Filmfare Awards South | Best Director – Telugu | Arjun Reddy | Nominated |
| 2019 | 26th Screen Awards | Best Director | Kabir Singh | Nominated |
| 2019 | 21st IIFA Awards | Best Director | Kabir Singh | Nominated |
| 2024 | 69th Filmfare Awards | Best Director | Animal | Nominated |
| 2024 | 69th Filmfare Awards | Best Screenplay | Animal | Nominated |
| 2024 | 69th Filmfare Awards | Best Editing | Animal | Nominated |
| 2024 | 24th IIFA Awards | Best Director | Animal | Nominated |
| 2024 | 24th IIFA Awards | Best Editing | Animal | Won |