Priyadarshi Pulikonda

Priyadarshi Pulikonda
Pulikonda in 2019
Born	Khammam
Nationality	Indian
Alma mater	University of Hyderabad
Occupations	Actor comedian
Years active	2016–⁠present
Spouse	Richa Sharma ​ (m. 2018)​

Priyadarshi Pulikonda is an Indian actor and comedian who works in Telugu films. He gained recognition for his role in Pelli Choopulu (2016). In addition to supporting roles, Priyadarshi played the lead in films such as Mallesham (2019), Mithai (2019), and Mail (2021). His performance in Mallesham (2019) appeared in the "100 Greatest Performances of the Decade" by Film Companion.^[1]

Early life

Priyadarshi was born in a Telugu family in Telangana, India. His father Pulikonda Subbachary is a professor and his mother's name is Jayalakshmi.^[2] Priyadarshi's parents shifted to Hyderabad when he was 2 years old and they have been living there since then. They lived in the Old City until he was 10 and later moved to Gachibowli. They now live in Chandanagar. He did his Bachelor of Science in Statistics from MNR Degree & PG College and has a postgraduate degree in Mass Communication from the University of Hyderabad.^[3]

Personal life

Priyadarshi married writer Richa Sharma in 2018, who was his senior at the University of Hyderabad.^[4]

Career

Priyadarshi played the role of a terrorist in the 2016 film Terror which was met with critical acclaim. He gained significance for his portrayal of Kaushik in the successful 2016 romantic comedy Pelli Choopulu.^[5] The film was praised for story line, performances and clean humour and Priyadarshi was praised for his speech in Telangana Baasha in the film.^[6] He has acted in a web series Loser in which he played the role of a rifle shooter. His performance was appreciated by critics.^[7]

In an interview with The Hindu, he said he was inspired to become an actor after watching Sagara Sangamam, calling it a "paradigm shift". He is a fan of actors Kamal Haasan and Chiranjeevi, and directors K. Balachander, K. Viswanath, and Singeetam Srinivasa Rao.^[3]

Besides working in several short films, he has appeared in Jai Lava Kusa, which stars NTR Jr., Nivetha Thomas and Raashi Khanna. He also appeared in the Mahesh Babu starrer Spyder, directed by AR Murugadoss.

Filmography

Telugu films

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2016	Terror	Terrorist
	Pelli Choopulu	Kaushik
	Bommala Ramaram	Ramanna
2017	Ghazi	Lt. Nilesh Mishra
	Winner
	Arjun Reddy	Lawyer
	Keshava	Keshava's friend
	Mister	Doctor
	Babu Baga Busy
	Darsakudu
	Yuddham Sharanam	Alex
	Jai Lava Kusa	Obulesh ‘Obs’
	Spyder	Vinay
	Vunnadhi Okate Zindagi	Sathish
	Egise Tarajuvvalu	Somaraju
	Middle Class Abbayi	Darshi
	Idi Maa Prema Katha
2018	Rangula Ratnam	Vishnu's friend
	Kanam	Sub Inspector Agni
	Tholi Prema	Ravi
	Manasuku Nachindi	Sarath
	Awe	Nala
	Nela Ticket	Lawyer Yadagiri
	W/O Ram	Police Officer Chary
	Padi Padi Leche Manasu	Darshi
2019	F2	Darshi
	Mr. Majnu	Chitti
	Mallesham	Chintakindi Mallesham
	1st Rank Raju	Chintu
	Mithai	Jani
	Brochevarevarura	Rocky
	Gang Leader	Ramakrishna
	Rama Chakkani Seetha	Pushkar
2020	World Famous Lover	Gautham's friend
	Bombhaat	Karun
	Guvva Gorinka	Raghuram
2021	Mail	Hybath
	Naandhi	Radha Prakash	[8]
	Jathi Ratnalu	Jogipet Sekhar
	A1 Express	Darshi
	Ichata Vahanamulu Niluparadu	Puli
	WWW	Ashraf
2022	Radhe Shyam	Subbarao
	Sita Ramam	Journalist Marthandam
	Oke Oka Jeevitham	Chaitanya "Chaitu"
	Gurthunda Seethakalam	Dev's friend
2023	Balagam	Saayilu
	Mangalavaaram	Ravi
	Hi Nanna	Justin	[9]
2024	Om Bheem Bush	Vinay Gummadi
	Darling	Raghava	[10]
	35 †	Chanakya Varma	[11]

Voice actor

Year	Title	Actor	Notes	Ref.
2018	Gang	RJ Balaji	Telugu dubbed version	[12]
2019	Frozen 2	Olaf		[13]

Other language films

Year	Title	Role	Language
2017	The Ghazi Attack	Lt. Nilesh Mishra	Hindi
	Take Off	Indian in Iraq	Malayalam
	Spyder	Madhu	Tamil
2018	NOTA	Wong
2022	Radhe Shyam	Subbarao	Hindi

Television

Year	Title	Role	Network	Ref.
2020–present	Loser	Suri Yadav	ZEE5	[14]
2020	Story Discussion	DOP	Avanti Cinema
2021	In the Name of God	Aadi	Aha
	Unheard	Badri	Disney+ Hotstar	[15]
2023–present	Save the Tigers	Ghanta Ravi	Disney+ Hotstar

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Film	Result	Ref.
2016	2nd IIFA Utsavam	Best Performance In A Comic Role - (Telugu)	Pelli Choopulu	Won	[16]
2017	7th South Indian International Movie Awards	Best Comedian (Telugu)	Pelli Choopulu	Won	[17]
2019	Radio City Cine Awards S2	Best Comedian	Tholi Prema	Won	[18]
2020	Zee Cine Awards Telugu	Best Comedian	Brochevarevarura	Won	[19]
2020	Critics' Choice Film Awards	Best Actor – Male	Mallesham	Nominated	[20]
2021	9th South Indian International Movie Awards	Best Comedian (Telugu)	Brochevarevarura	Nominated

References

1. "100 Greatest Performances of the Decade". Film Companion. Archived from the original on 19 December 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
2. "KTR releases song penned by Priyadarshi's father". Times of India. 13 June 2020.
3. Chowdhary, Y. Sunita (1 August 2016). "More than just a funny guy". The Hindu. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
4. "'It was difficult to get into an industry where nepotism rules': Priyadarshi to TNM". The News Minute. 9 July 2018.
5. "Pelli Choopulu Success for Pelli Choopulu Actor". The Hans India. 1 February 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
6. "A Hyderabadi in first web thriller". Deccan Chronicle. 20 August 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
7. Dundoo, Sangeetha Devi (16 May 2020). "'Loser' review: Priyadarshi, Annie and Kalpika walk away with the honours". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
8. "'Naandhi' showcases a new Allari Naresh and glimpses of police brutality". The Hindu. 30 June 2020. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
9. Dundoo, Sangeetha Devi (2 December 2023). "Nani interview on 'Hi Nanna': I did not want the success of 'Dasara' to dictate what I choose next". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
10. "Darling glimpse: Priyadarshi plays a man exasperated with his marital life". Cinema Express. 20 April 2024. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
11. "Nivetha Thomas starrer 35 completes censorship formalities". Cinema Express. 3 September 2024.
12. "Gang Review". Indiaglitz.
13. "Priyadarshi to lend his voice for Olaf in the Telugu version of Frozen 2". The Times of India. 8 November 2019.
14. Parasuraman, Prathyush (18 May 2020). "Loser On Zee5 Review: Starring Priyadarshi, This Is A Sterile and Stretched Sports Drama Across Three Generations". Film Companion. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
15. "Disney Plus Hotstar's Telugu series Unheard gets release date". The Indian Express. 6 September 2021.
16. "IIFA Utsavam: Complete winner's list". Indian Express. 30 March 2017.
17. "SIIMA Awards 2017 Telugu winners list: Jr NTR and Rakul Preet Singh declared best actors". International Business Times. 2 July 2017.
18. "City-Cine Awards - Radio City". Radio City. 2019. Archived from the original on 15 May 2021. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
19. "Complete winner list of Zee Cine awards Telugu 2020". 12 January 2020. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
20. "Critics' Choice Film Awards 2020: Complete nominations list". The Indian Express. 11 March 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2021.

External links

• Priyadarshi Pulikonda at IMDb
• Priyadarshi Pulikonda on Twitter