| Hemanth M. Rao | |
| Birth Date: | 4 September 1983[1] |
| Birth Place: | Bangalore, Karnataka, India |
| Nationality: | Indian |
| Occupation: | Filmmaker |
Hemanth M. Rao is an Indian film director and screenwriter who works in Kannada cinema. He rose to fame following the success of his directorial debut Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu (2016).
After a brief stint in journalism, Rao ventured into the film industry in 2005.[2] He began as an assistant director with Girish Kasaravalli on the 2008 film Gulabi Talkies. He then worked in similar capacities with Jacob Varghese on Savaari and Prithvi.[3] He worked as an assistant director with Girish Kasaravalli in the latter's 2008 film Gulabi Talkies, before working with Jacob Varghese in Savaari (2009) and Prithvi (2010).[4]
He made his directorial debut in 2016 with Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu, a Kannada drama feature about a man searching for his missing father with Alzheimer’s, with a script that he co-wrote. that had Rakshit Shetty and Anant Nag playing the respective roles. The film, produced by Pushkar Films, was a box office success and received critical acclaim upon release. [2]
Under his banner Lost & Found Films, he co-produced Humble Politician Nograj—a political satire comedy inspired by The Campaign.[5] The film was produced by Pushkar Films and Paramvah Studios and was released in January 2018.
Rao’s next writing venture was Andhadhun (2018), which was also his first venture into Hindi cinema. He co-wrote the script with Sriram Raghavan, Pooja Ladha Surti (who was also the editor of the film), Arijit Biswas, and Yogesh Chandekarand. The film also garnered tremendous praise and popularity, while also quickly garnering a cult following. They all collectively won a Filmfare Award and National Film Award for their screenplay.[6]
His second directorial was Kavaludaari (2019), which was also the maiden production venture of Puneeth Rajkumar under production house, PRK Productions.[7] Kavaludaari won Best Movie in "Kannada Cinema Competition" at 12th Bengaluru International Film Festival 2020[8]
Rao continued to work in the thriller space with Maestro, which released in 2021. His next directorial, Sapta Sagaradaache Ello, is a romantic drama which he wrote a long time back. Owing to the expansive timeline of the screenplay, it was split into two parts: Side A and Side B. Side A released on 1 September 2023 to critical acclaim from both the critics and audience, alike. Side B was released on 17 November 2023.
| Year | Film | Credit as | Note | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director | Screenplay | Producer | ||||
| 2016 | Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu | |||||
| 2018 | Humble Politician Nograj | Co-produced with Pushkara Mallikarjunaiah, Rakshit Shetty | ||||
| 2018 | Andhadhun | Hindi Film; National Film Award for Best Screenplay | [9] | |||
| 2019 | Kavaludaari | [10] | ||||
| 2020 | Bheemasena Nalamaharaja | Released on OTT | [11] | |||
| 2023 | Sapta Saagaradaache Ello – Side A | |||||
| Sapta Saagaradaache Ello – Side B | ||||||
| Film | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu | 64th Filmfare Awards South | Best Film- Kannada | [12] | |
| Best Director- Kannada | ||||
| Raghavendra Chitravani Award 2017 | Best Screenplay | [13] | ||
| Gollapudi Srinivas Award 2017 | First Time Best Director | [14] | ||
| 6th SIIMA Awards | Best Film | [15] | ||
| Best Debut Director | ||||
| Andhadhun | 66th National Film Awards | Best Adapted Screenplay | [16] | |
| 64th Filmfare Awards | Best Screenplay | [17] [18] | ||
| 24th Star Screen Awards | Best Screenplay | [19] [20] | ||
| 20th IIFA Awards | Best Screenplay | [21] | ||
| Kavaludaari | 12th Bengaluru International Film Festival 2020 | Best Film in Kannada Cinema | ||
| Critics’ Choice Film Awards 2020 | Best Director | [22] | ||
| Best Writing | ||||
| 9th SIIMA Awards | Best Director | [23] | ||
| Sapta Saagaradaache Ello | 69th Filmfare Awards South | Best Director | [24] [25] | |