Deva Katta is an Indian American film director and screenwriter who works in Telugu cinema. He directed movies such as Vennela (2005), Prasthanam (2010), Autonagar Surya (2014), and Republic (2021). In 2010, Prasthanam was showcased in the Indian Panorama section at the International Film Festival of India. The film also won two Filmfare awards including Filmfare South Critics Award for Best Film and Nandi Award for Best Feature Film in 2010.
Early life Deva Katta was born in Eluru, Andhra Pradesh. His father, Niranjan Naidu Katta, hails from Kadapa, while his mother hails from Tirupathi, Andhra Pradesh. He moved to Chennai in 1985. He holds a Master of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan. He worked as a vehicle crashworthiness expert at General Motors. He is a naturalized American citizen.
Career He graduated from film school before making a television serial about Indian students in the United States shot from 1999 to 2000 titled Valasa. He shorten the serial into a film in 2003; however, it was not released. He then made his feature film debut with the romantic comedy flick Vennela on the same topic while additionally including a love story.
In 2015, Katta teamed up with actor Vishnu Manchu for the film Dynamite, a remake of the Tamil film Arima Nambi (2014), and Katta's only remake till date. Katta, however, said that he shot the film for only nine days and walked out due to creative differences. Katta was credited as the film's director nonetheless.
In one of his interviews, he mentioned that Prasthanam, Autonagar Surya, and Republic are part of his quadrilogy of the society which show the perspective of a Politician (Legislative), Common Man (Voter), and Bureaucrat (Executive) on society. He is currently working on the final part of the quadrilogy which will show the perspective of a Judicial (Judiciary) on society.
Filmography Feature films
Note: all films are in Telugu, unless otherwise noted. As director +Films as a director Year Title Notes 2005 Vennela Credited as Deva Kaushik Katta 2010 Prasthanam International Film Festival of IndiaNandi Award for Best Feature Film (Bronze)Filmfare Critics Award for Best Telugu Film 2014 Autonagar Surya 2019 Prassthanam Hindi remake of Prasthanam 2021 Republic
As writer and producer +Films as a writer and producer Year Title Writer Producer Notes 2015Bahubali: The BeginningYes(Dialogues for a sequence)No 2026 Hitmen Prod No.1 2027
Television +List of web series directed and writtenYearTitleStreaming ServiceNotes 2025 Mayasabha: Rise of the titans SonyLIV
Short films +List of short films directed and written by Katta Year Title LanguageNotes The People Mover EnglishReleased in film festivals; also actor 2015 Dying to Be Me English
Acting roles D for Dopidi (2013) as A.C.P. Krishnamachari
References
External links