Sudha Kongara

Sudha Kongara (born June 5, 1972) is an Indian film director and screenwriter who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. She worked as associate director for seven years with Mani Ratnam. In 2016, she made her Hindi cinema debut with Saala Khadoos which was originally shot in Tamil as Irudhi Suttru. She won the Filmfare Award for Best Director – Tamil  for Irudhi Suttru. She made her Telugu film debut with Guru (2017) which is a remake of Irudhi Suttru.

Early life
She studied History and Mass Communications from Women's Christian College, Madras. She worked as an assistant director with Mani Ratnam, and Bala (director).

Career
Sudha Kongara worked as a screenwriter for the English film Mitr, My Friend (2002). During the production of her first Tamil directorial venture Drohi (2010), Sudha Kongara began writing a sports drama film on boxing which was titled Irudhi Suttru. In mid-2013, she approached Madhavan, who was on a sabbatical from Tamil films, to portray the lead role in the film and his presence in the project, helped take the financial viability of the venture to a higher level. The pair had previously collaborated in Madhavan's films under the direction of Mani Ratnam, where Sudha had been an associate director. She then remade Irudhi Suttru in Telugu as Guru. Her next film was Soorarai Pottru which is based on life of Air Deccan founder Captain GR Gopinath feature and it is produced by Suriya's 2D Entertainment and co-produced by Guneet Monga of Sikhya Entertainment.