Mailasandra Hanumappa Manjunatha Reddy, known popularly as Thriller Manju, is an Indian stunt coordinator, filmmaker, actor known for his work in Kannada cinema. He has occasionally also served as screenwriter and choreographer.[1] Apart from Kannada, Manju has also worked in a handful Telugu- and Tamil-language films.[2] He ventured into film direction with the film, Police Story (1996).[3][4]
Thriller Manju | |
|---|---|
| Born | Mailasandra Hanumappa Manjunatha Reddy Mailasandra, Bangalore, Mysore State, India |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1985–present |
Early life
editManju was born in Mailasandra, a village in Bangalore, to C. Hanumappa Reddy and A. Rukminiamma. He had two siblings: older brother Gurumurthy and younger sister Padmavati. Hanumappa Reddy served as the chief of the village before the family moved to Bangalore city where he began working as an electrical contractor. The family resided in the Basavanagudi, where Manju was educated, at the Kamala Nehru Education Society. With a movie theatre and a martial arts training center in close proximity to his house, he was drawn towards both of these as a kid. He cited Rajkumar and Bruce Lee as his idols growing up.[5]
Career
editManju began his career as a stuntman with Nyayada Kannu (1985). He played the stunt double of one of the characters in the film. Manju had one scene in the film and was shot in the Kanteerava Studios, Bangalore.[6]
Manju's 2010 Kannada film, Jayahe featured himself in the leading roles alongside actors Ayesha and Jai Akash. The film was later dubbed and released in Malayalam as Lady Bruce Lee (2011) and into Tamil as Vettai Puli (2013).
Filmography
edit- As director
- Police Story (1996)
- Jackie Chan (1997)
- Thriller Killer (1998)
- One Man Army (1998)
- Om Namah Shivaya (1999)
- Hunter (2003)
- Om Ganesh (2004)
- Police Story 2 (2007)
- Rajani (2009)
- Jayahe (2010)
- Police No. 1 (2011)
- Police Story 3 (2011)
- As actor
- Thriller Killer (1998)
- Amar Akbar Anthony (1998)
- Naxalite (2000)
- Narahantaka (2001)
- Supari (2001)
- Mafia (2001)
- Khaki Chokka (2001; Telugu)
- Neethone Vuntanu (2002; Telugu)
- Action No. 1 (2002; Telugu)
- Police Officers (2002)
- Thrisakthi (2002)
- Hunter (2003)
- Bodyguard (2003)
- Rama Krishna (2004)
- Samudra (2004)
- Bhagath (2004)
- Police No. 1 (2011)
- CBI Sathya (2016)
- Raj Bahadur (2016)
- Dandu (2016)
- Inamdar (2023)
- As stunt coordinator
- Shrungara Kavya (1993)
- Shhh (1993)
- Lockup Death (1994)
- Om (1995)
- Police Story (1996)
- Khaki Chokka (2001; Telugu) (only some fights)[7]
- Hunter (2003)
- Auto Shankar (2005)
- Veera Madakari (2009)
- Thittivasal (2017; Tamil)
- Sarvasva (2017)
Awards and nominations
edit- 1994-95: Karnataka State Film Award for Best Stunt Director (Special Award) - Lockup Death
- 2010: Innovative Film Award for Best Stunt Director[8]
References
edit- ^ Film industry beats its own record – The Hindu
- ^ Thriller Manju does three Telugu films – The Times of India
- ^ Oh, shoot! It’s a record – The Hindu
- ^ Thriller Manju Video | Celebrity Interview and Paparazzi
- ^ "ಊರ ಪಟೇಲರ ಮಗ ಚಿತ್ರರಂಗದ ಟಾಪ್ ಫೈಟ್ ಮಾಸ್ಟರ್ ಆದ ಸ್ಟೋರಿ"-Ep01-Thriller Manju LIFE-Kalamadhyama-#param. Kalamadhyama. 10 November 2021. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
- ^ "ಥ್ರಿಲ್ಲರ್ ಮಂಜು ತಗೊಳ್ತಿದ್ದ ಪೇಮೆಂಟ್ ಎಷ್ಟು? 125 ಸಿನಿಮಾ ಫೈಟರ್"-Ep06-Thriller Manju LIFE-Kalamadhyama. Kalamadhyama. 15 November 2021. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
- ^ "Movie review - Khaki Chokka". Idlebrain.com. 29 June 2001.
- ^ "Innovative Film Awards, star studded, star oriented". chitratara.com. 3 May 2010. Archived from the original on 20 December 2013. Retrieved 28 January 2017.