Sudhakar Reddy Yakkanti
Sudhakar Reddy Yakkanti is an Indian film cinematographer, turned director, screenwriter, editor and producer known for his works in Hindi, Telugu, and Marathi cinema. In 1999, Reddy made his foray into cinema as assistant director of photography under Ajayan Vincent with Telugu films such as Raja Kumarudu, and Yamajathakudu. Background. Reddy was born on 23 March 1976 in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh into a Telugu speaking family. Reddy holds A Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography from Jawaharlal Nehru Architecture and Fine Arts University, Hyderabad, and post graduate diploma in Cinematography from Film and Television Institute of India , Pune. Career. Reddy ventured into parallel cinema with the 2003 short film "Ek Aakash" for which Reddy received the National Film Award – Special Jury Award – "For starting off as a simple rivalry of two kids from different backgrounds; in kite flying, becomes a battle of one-upmanship. Both are led by their ego and aggressive instincts, but eventually reach a point when they need others help" as cited by the Jury. "Ek Aakash" has also garnered various international accolades such as Best Youth and Children's film at the Association for International Broadcasting, Special Mention at International Film Festival for  Young and Children, Argentina, and was featured at Four Art Film Fest, Slovakia. In 2018 he directed the Marathi feature film Naal for which he received the National Film Award for Best First Film of a Director trophy.