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Posani Krishna Murali is an Indian screenwriter, actor, director and producer who primarily works in Telugu cinema. He worked as a writer for over 150 Telugu films and directed several commercially successful films. In 2009, he also contested in Andhra Pradesh state legislative assembly elections from Chilakaluripet constituency but lost the elections. Posani’s films are widely criticised for eccentricity.Assistant writer and early work (1992–1998)
He joined as an assistant writer under writing duo Paruchuri Brothers. While he was still working under them and pursuing his M.Phil degree in Madras, Ram Gopal Varma asked him to write dialogues for one of his films. Murali declined the offer and told Ram Gopal Varma that he still had a lot to learn from Paruchuri Brothers and he wasn’t ready to take up a film on his own. Ram Gopal Varma was impressed by Murali and his honesty towards work. Murali worked for five years under Paruchuri Brothers assisting them for over 100 films. In 1992, he finally quit as assistant writer to start his career. He landed a job of writing story and dialogues for the film Police Brothers under the direction of Mohan Gandhi. Also Ram Gopal Varma gave him an opportunity to write dialogues for his 1993 film Gaayam. Varma also recommended Murali to Akkineni Nagarjuna, which led him to write for the film Rakshana. He also got a breakthrough opportunity to write for Chiranjeevi’s Alluda Majaka directed by E. V. V. Satyanarayana. He wrote the story, dialogues and screenplay for the film. He continued working in successful films like Pavithra Bandham, Thaali, Preminchukundam Raa, Pellichesukundam, Gokulamlo Seetha, Sivayya, Ravanna and Master.
Popularity and acting (1999–2004)
By 1999, Posani Krishna Murali gained popularity for his writing and established himself as one of the top writers in Telugu cinema. In 1999, he worked as a writer for 8 films, highest by any Telugu writer in that year.[ In 2000, he worked as a writer for 9 movies. In 2001, while still busy as a writer, Posani Krishna Murali began his acting career with Srihari’s Evadra Rowdy for which he also gave the story and handled the screenplay. In 2002, his second film as an actor Gemini starring Venkatesh was released. The same year also saw Murali in Mahesh Babu’s Bobby which was directed by Sobhan. Although the film was a failure at the boxoffice, Murali’s performance in the film was highly acclaimed.He continued to appear in films such as Good Boy and Bhadradi Ramudu. He also continued writing for films like Orey Thammudu, Raghavendra, Simhachalam, Bhadradi Ramudu, Palanati Brahmanaidu, Seetayya, Tiger Harish Chandra Prasad and Gemini.
Direction and success (2005–present)
After writing for about 150 Telugu films, Posani Krishna Murali decided to direct a film. He established the production company called, UP Cinema Lines. In 2005, he wrote, directed and produced Sraavanamasam starring Krishna, Harikrishna, Suman, Vijaya Nirmala, Bhanupriya, Keerthi Chawla, Kalyani, Gajala etc. Although the film had a big star cast and more than sixty character artists which included top comedians and artists of Telugu cinema like Brahmanandam, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Krishna Bhagavaan, Tanikella Bharani, Giri Babu, Kondavalasa, Dharmavarapu Subramanyam, Sunil, Venu Madhav, L.B. Sriram, M. S. Narayana, Mallikarjuna Rao, AVS, Ali and Babu Mohan, the film was a failure at box office and Murali’s direction was heavily criticised. Murali also incurred heavy losses financially due to the failure of this film. Post Sravaanamasam, Posani Krishna Murali was seen acting in films like Athadu, Game and Munna. In 2006, Posani Krishna Murali began working on his next directorial venture. He wrote the script and approached Telugu actor Srikanth for a lead role in the film. Impressed by the script, Srikanth agreed to do the film and Murali secured a producer for the project. The film was a political satire and was titled Operation Duryodhana and it was released in 2007. The film was highly successful at the box office earning nearly ten times its budget. Murali’s direction was also acclaimed by the critics. He continued to direct films like Apadamokkulavadu, Mental Krishna, Rajavari Chepala Cheruvu, Posani Gentleman and Dushasana. He also began acting in lead roles in films such as Mental Krishna, Rajavari Chepala Cheruvu and Posani Gentleman.
