Raj & DK

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title: "Raj & DK" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["indian-filmmaking-duos", "indian-screenwriting-duos", "living-people", "film-directors-from-andhra-pradesh", "telugu-film-directors", "20th-century-births", "hindi-language-film-directors", "indian-emigrants-to-the-united-states", "telugu-film-producers", "year-of-birth-missing-(living-people)", "21st-century-indian-people", "people-from-chittoor-district", "film-producers-from-andhra-pradesh", "indian-experimental-filmmakers"] description: "Indian film-making duo" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raj_&_DK" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Indian film-making duo ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

Field	Value
name	Raj & DK
image	Raj & DK.jpg
landscape	yes
birth_place	Raj Nidimoru
Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India Krishna Dasarakothapalli
Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh, India
caption	Raj (left) and DK (right) in 2019
occupation
years_active	2003–present
alma_mater	Sri Venkateswara University College of Engineering
spouse	Raj Nidimoru:

Krishna Dasarakothapalli: | ::

| name = Raj & DK | image = Raj & DK.jpg | landscape = yes | birth_place = Raj Nidimoru Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India Krishna Dasarakothapalli Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh, India | caption = Raj (left) and DK (right) in 2019 | occupation = | years_active = 2003–present | alma_mater = Sri Venkateswara University College of Engineering | spouse = Raj Nidimoru:

Krishna Dasarakothapalli:

Raj Nidimoru and Krishna Dasarakothapalli, collectively credited as Raj & DK, are an Indian filmmaker duo known for their work as writers, directors, and producers in Hindi cinema. They are noted for creating, directing, and producing the Hindi-language thriller series The Family Man (2019–present), Farzi (2023), and Citadel: Honey Bunny for Amazon Prime Video, as well as the Hindi-language crime comedy series Guns & Gulaabs (2023) for Netflix.

They have also directed the films 99 (2009), Shor in the City (2011), Go Goa Gone (2013), Happy Ending (2014) and A Gentleman (2017), and written Stree (2018).

Early life

Raj Nidimoru and Krishna Dasarakothapalli (DK) were born and brought up in Tirupati and Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh, respectively, into Telugu families. They both graduated from SVU College of Engineering, where they met each other. After graduation, they emigrated to the United States to pursue a career in software engineering.

Career

Raj & DK worked on the short Shaadi.com (2002) before working on the English-language feature film Flavors (2003) about Indian immigrants. Their first Hindi feature film, 99, was an original crime-comic-thriller-historical-fiction set in Mumbai and Delhi. The New York Times called it "funny, inventive, refreshing"; Box Office magazine (USA) acclaimed that the film "sets new standards in Hindi cinema!"; and a number of Indian publications gave it four star reviews. Rediff.com gave the film 4 stars and told the viewers that "they will leave the theater laughing and entertained". Indiatimes gave it 3.5 stars.

Their next, Shor in the City, was the acclaimed Hindi film of the year. It has received glowing reviews from across media publications. The film was made at a micro-budget, making it profitable even before the film's release. The film was also selected to various high-profile film festivals across the world. Nikhat Kazmi of The Times of India awarded it four stars out of five and stated "With a zany screenplay (Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK), excellent cinematography by Tushar Kanti Ray and peppy music by Sachin-Jigar, Shor in the City is another breaking-norm film from Ekta Kapoor". Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave it three and a half stars and wrote "Shor in the City belongs to one of those rare categories of movies with sensibilities that would not only entice the festival crowd and the cinema literate, but also lure the ardent moviegoer". Aniruddha Guha of the Daily News and Analysis gave it three stars and said "Shor in the City is the kind of reassuring film you yearn to watch amid, well, what 'Bollywood' has to offer every week. Also, it articulates something you have only probably thought before – 'Karma IS a bitch.'" Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN awarded three and a half stars saying "A delicious mix of quirky humor, gruesome violence, and surprising sensitivity, Shor in the City works on the strength of its smart script and consistent performances from its ensemble cast". Rediff awarded the film four stars and said "Raj-Krishna's Shor in the City robotically registers itself in Indian cinema's history". Anupama Chopra of NDTV gave the movie four stars and wrote "Shor in the City is a terrific film. It’s surprising and disturbing and has a vein of rich, dark humor coursing through it". Shubhra Gupta of the Indian Express gave it a three star rating and commented "What makes Shor in the City an instant clutter-breaker is its darkly comic treatment. It makes you smile because its humour comes from within. It’s not grafted. And it’s got heart : we feel for the characters". Tushar Joshi of MiD DAY gave it a four star rating and wrote "Loaded with humor, sarcasm and wit. That truly is the beauty of the makers who succeed in arresting you with their tales. The spectacular climax is easily one of the best written in recent times". Karan Anshuman of Mumbai Mirror gave it a four star rating, saying "Three stories, eleven days, myriad layers, believable characters, fine performances, spirited direction, taut script, momentary explosions of originality".

Two years later, they came back with Go Goa Gone, which was a clutter-breaking film that introduced to India the first of its kind of a genre-bending film - a stoner/slacker comedy combined with horror and comedy. It became a cult film, especially among the younger audience.

They returned to production with the Telugu-language film D for Dopidi, ten years after their debut project. Their next two projects, Happy Ending and A Gentleman both received mixed reviews and failed commercially.

Their next production, Stree, released in 2018, to positive reviews to critics. Based on the urban legend Naale Baa, it starred Shraddha Kapoor and Rajkummar Rao, alongside Pankaj Tripathi, Aparshakti Khurana and Abhishek Banerjee. It was the first film to spawn a series of installments in the Maddock Horror Comedy Universe.

They made their television debut with the Amazon Prime Video series The Family Man in 2019. Featuring Manoj Bajpayee in the titular role as intelligence officer Srikant Tiwari, it was showcased at the Television Critics Association's summer press tour held in Los Angeles in July 2019, and was eventually premiered on Amazon Prime Video on 20 September 2019. It received acclaim from critics and audiences alike, praising the performance of the cast members, and writing and execution. The second season was scheduled to be aired on 12 February 2021 but was delayed, and finally released on 4 June 2021. The third season was released on 21 November 2025.

In 2021, they started subsidiary of their production company, D2R Indie to produce indie films. The first project produced under the banner was the 2021 Telugu film Cinema Bandi by debutant director Praveen Kandregula. It received positive response from critics and audience. LetsOTT cited the film as "an utterly delectable, charming, that rises a toast to the magic of cinema". Another reviewer writing to NTV, stated "Cinema Bandi toys with themes like hope and redemption. While the premise is heart-warming, the treatment could have been way better". Ramnath Nandini of Scroll.in wrote that "the [film] has a winning set-up, oodles of heart and snarky humour, which compensate for the unstructured and rambling narrative and simplistic approach". Gautaman Bhaskaran of News18 agave a rating of 2.5/5 and wrote that "Cinema Bandi has a very interesting message about how video cameras have afforded splendid opportunities for especially short moviemakers, the film appears rather raw". *Hindustan Times*s Haricharan Pudipeddi said that the film is rooted in reality and it brims with the kind of energy we rarely witness in mainstream cinema.

Sharing continuity with The Family Man, their series Farzi, starring Shahid Kapoor, Vijay Sethupathi, Kay Kay Menon, Raashii Khanna and Bhuvan Arora, premiered in 2023. It tells the story of a disillusioned artist who decides to make counterfeit money. The series received positive reviews, and emerged as the most-watched Indian streaming series.

They signed a multi-year deal with Netflix, under which they released the series Guns & Gulaabs, starring Dulquer Salmaan, Rajkummar Rao, Gulshan Devaiah, and Adarsh Gourav in 2023.

They signed for the Indian segment of Citadel by Russo brothers whose production began in 2022. Titled Citadel: Honey Bunny, it starred Varun Dhawan and Samantha Ruth Prabhu as the title characters. The series was released on 6 November 2024. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 80% of 15 critics' reviews were positive, with an average rating of 6.1/10.

Filmography

Film

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Functioned as	Language	Notes	Directors	Writers	Producers
2003	Flavors				English	Also actors
2009	99				Hindi
2010	Inkosaari				Telugu
2011	Shor In The City				Hindi
2013	Go Goa Gone
D for Dopidi				Telugu
2014	Happy Ending				Hindi
2017	A Gentleman
2018	Stree
2020	Unpaused				Anthology film;
2021	Cinema Bandi				Telugu
::

Television

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Functioned as	Language	Platform	Notes	Creators	Directors	Writers	Producers
2019–present	The Family Man					Hindi	Amazon Prime Video	Also actor (DK)
2023–present	Farzi
Guns & Gulaabs					Netflix
2024	Citadel: Honey Bunny					Amazon Prime Video
rowspan="2"	Gulkanda Tales
Rakt Brahmand: The Bloody Kingdom					Netflix
::

Short films

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Language
2002	Shaadi.com	English
2008	Shor	Hindi
::

Awards and honours

::data[format=table]

Film	Award	Category	Result	Ref
Stree	Star Screen Awards	Best Film
Zee ETC Bollywood Business Awards	Box Office Surprise of the Year
100 Crore Club
The Family Man	Filmfare OTT Awards 2020	Best Director (Critics)
Best Dialogue (Series)
Mid Day Hitlist Web Awards	Best Creator
Best Writing
Critics' Choice Shorts and Series Awards	Best Writing
Best Series (Drama)
The Family Man (Season 2)	IWM Digital Awards	Best Web Series
Best Dialogues in a Web Series
Mid Day Hitlist Web Awards	Best Season
Best Creator
Farzi	Critics' Choice Shorts and Series Awards	Best Web Series
News18 Showsha Reel Awards	Best Director (OTT)
Behindwoods Gold Icon Awards	Best Directors in an OTT Series		url=https://x.com/behindwoods/status/1808001565946769503	title=Behindwoods Gold Icon Awards 2024
Guns & Gulaabs	Filmfare OTT Awards 2024	Best Series Critics'
Best Original Screenplay Series
Yellowstone International Film Festival	Achievement in Direction (Series)
SWA Awards	Best Screenplay – Web Comedy/Musical/Romance
Behindwoods Gold Icon Awards	Best Directors in an OTT Series
Citadel: Honey Bunny	News18 Reels Showsha Awards	Best Director (Popular Choice)
Talentrack Awards	Best Director (Drama)
Guns & Gulaabs	Film Companion – Ormax Power List of Directors	Featured Directors
::

References

References

1. "Raj Nidimoru And Shhyamali De Have Been Divorced Since 2022".
2. (December 1, 2025). "Samantha Ruth Prabhu marries The Family Man director Raj Nidimoru at Sadhguru's Isha Yoga Centre".
3. Adivi, Sashidhar. (8 June 2021). "The family men on their success | The family men on their success".
4. (September 13, 2023). "Raj & DK: The blockbuster duo". [[Forbes India]].
5. (March 11, 2023). "Raj & DK: Maximum guys". [[Livemint]].
6. (May 10, 2023). "Go Goa Gone to Farzi, 7 movies & shows by Raj & DK that bring unconventional stories in the most entertaining way". [[GQ India]].
7. "Interview with Raj and DK about Stree Manu by Bala Tirumalasetty - Telugu cinema directors".
8. Bala Subramanyam. "Interview with Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK". Idle Brain.com.
9. (18 May 2009). "99 is a very funny film". Rediff.
10. Saltz, Rachel. (2009-05-14). "Bollywood Without the Song and Dance". [[The New York Times]].
11. Chhabra, Aseem. "99 is a very funny film".
12. (14 May 2009). "99: Movie Review". [[The Times of India]].
13. "Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK: People had trust issues with us initially". [[The Times of India]].
14. Kazmi, Nikhat. (28 April 2011). "Shor in the City Movie Review". [[The Times of India]].
15. Adarsh, Taran. (25 April 2011). "Shor in the City: Movie Review".
16. Guha, Aniruddha. (29 April 2011). "Shor in the City is funny and engrossing". [[Daily News and Analysis]].
17. Masand, Rajeev. (6 May 2011). "Masand: 'Shor in ...' is surprisingly enjoyable". [[IBN Live]].
18. Pathak, Ankur. (28 April 2011). "Review: Shor In The City is brilliant stuff!". [[Rediff]].
19. Chopra, Anupama. (29 April 2011). "Review: Shor In The City". [[NDTV]].
20. Gupta, Shubhra. (29 April 2011). "Shor in the City". [[The Indian Express]].
21. Joshi, Tushar. (30 April 2011). "Shor in the City – Movie Review". [[MiD DAY]].
22. Anshuman, Karan. (30 April 2011). "Shor in the City Review". [[Mumbai Mirror]].
23. (2013-05-10). "Go Goa Gone is our kind of film: Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK".
24. "With D2R Films (Sorted by Popularity Ascending)".
25. "Raj Nidimoru Krishna DK working on two micro-series".
26. (26 August 2017). "Box Office: Worldwide Collections and Day wise breakup of A Gentleman".
27. "Happy Ending – Movie – Worldwide Gross". [[Box Office India]].
28. (12 April 2023). "Stree 2 and Bhediya 2 to take Dinesh Vijan's horror-comedy universe to new heights".
29. Ramachandran, Naman. (13 June 2018). "India's Manoj Bajpayee to Star in 'Family Man' for Amazon". Variety.
30. Singh, Suhani. (31 July 2019). "Manoj Bajpayee starrer Amazon Prime series The Family Man showcased at The Television Critics Association in Los Angeles". [[India Today]].
31. Arora, Akhil. (30 July 2019). "The Family Man, Amazon's Next Indian Series With Manoj Bajpayee, to Release in September on Prime Video".
32. Rohan Naahar (20 September 2019), [https://www.hindustantimes.com/tv/the-family-man-review-lighthearted-but-not-lightweight-amazon-and-manoj-bajpayee-have-a-winner-on-their-hands/story-Md1nRWexIIh7ogxifIrUHM.html "The Family Man review: Lighthearted but not lightweight; Amazon and Manoj Bajpayee have a winner on their hands"], ''Hindustan Times''. Retrieved 21 September 2019. [https://web.archive.org/web/20191012163135/https://www.hindustantimes.com/tv/the-family-man-review-lighthearted-but-not-lightweight-amazon-and-manoj-bajpayee-have-a-winner-on-their-hands/story-Md1nRWexIIh7ogxifIrUHM.html Archived] from the original on 12 October 2019.
33. (7 January 2021). "The Family Man season 2 arriving on February 12, Raj and DK share teaser. Watch".
34. (5 February 2021). "Raj and DK announce The Family Man season 2 to be aired this summer".
35. (2025-10-28). "'The Family Man' Season 3 release date: Manoj Bajpayee's action-packed series to stream from November 21". The Times of India.
36. (2021-04-30). "Cinema Bandi Trailer: Everyone Is a Filmmaker at Heart".
37. (2021-04-30). "Cinema Bandi trailer: Raj and DK present an innocent take on filmmaking".
38. Codingest. (January 2024). "Review: Cinema Bandi".
39. Ramnath, Nandini. (14 May 2021). "'Cinema Bandi' review: A rollicking and rambling ode to the magic of the movies".
40. (14 May 2021). "Cinema Bandi Movie Review: Honest Effort to Explore an Autorickshaw Driver's Passion for Filmmaking".
41. (14 May 2021). "Cinema Bandi movie review: Slice-of-life drama about the joy and pain of making films".
42. Jha, Lata. (11 January 2023). "Amazon Prime Video to stream Shahid Kapoor's 'Farzi' on 10 February". [[The Hindu]].
43. Chatterjee, Saibal. (10 February 2023). "Farzi Review: Vijay Sethupathi Sets The Bar High, Shahid Kapoor's Performance Is Remarkable In Its Restraint".
44. PTI. (2022-04-09). "Raj and DK wrap up shoot of Netflix series 'Guns & Gulaabs'".
45. (9 April 2022). "Rajkummar Rao wraps 'Guns and Gulaabs'".
46. (4 August 2022). "Raj Nidimoru & Krishna DK form multi-year creative partnership with Netflix; first project would be Guns & Gulaabs".
47. (22 March 2022). "Guns And Gulaabs: Rajkummar Rao, Dulquer Salmaan unveil their first looks from Netflix show, see pics".
48. (22 March 2022). "Netflix unveils posters of Rajkummar Rao, Dulquer Salmaan, Adarsh Gourav from 'Guns & Gulaabs'".
49. (22 March 2022). "Netflix unveils first looks of Rajkummar Rao, Dulquer Salmaan from 'Guns & Gulaabs'". [[The Hindu]].
50. (28 June 2021). "Russo Brothers' Amazon Multi-Series 'Citadel' India Details Revealed, 'The Family Man' Season 2 Unpacked (EXCLUSIVE)".
51. (31 January 2024). "Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK drop photos with Citadel team, Varun Dhawan and Samantha Ruth Prabhu; spark speculations about a teaser". [[Bollywood Hungama]].
52. "Raj and DK interview - Telugu Cinema interview - Telugu film directors".
53. (18 December 2018). "Star Screen Awards 2018 full list of winners: Stree, Raazi and Badhaai Ho win laurels".
54. "The Family Man Season 2 Review".
55. "Stree (2018) Awards".
56. (2020-12-20). "Filmfare OTT Awards 2020: 'Paatal Lok', 'The Family Man' Win Big".
57. (December 9, 2020). "Radio City & Mid-Day announce the winners of Hitlist Web Awards".
58. "Critics' Choice Shorts and Series Awards 2022".
59. (December 13, 2019). "The Family Man, Little Things season 2, Manoj Bajpayee, Shefali Shah win top honours at Critics' Choice Shorts and Series Awards". [[Firstpost]].
60. "IWM Digital Awards 2022".
61. (26 April 2022). "Radio City & Mid-Day successfully culminate Season 3 of Hitlist OTT Awards". BestMediaInfo.
62. "Critics' Choice Shorts and Series Awards 2024".
63. (March 9, 2024). "News18 Showsha Reel Awards 2024: Raj and DK Take Home the Best Director For Farzi".
64. (July 2, 2024). "Behindwoods Gold Icon Awards 2024".
65. "Winners of Filmfare OTT Awards 2024: Complete List!".
66. "Winners of Filmfare OTT Awards 2024: Complete List!".
67. (November 6, 2023). "Tabu To Babil Khan, Here Are The List Of Winners Of Yellowstone International Film Festival". [[MissMalini.com]].
68. (9 August 2024). "Writers Honoured at SWA Awards Nite".
69. (March 21, 2025). "Raj & DK Win Best Director (Popular Choice) For 'Citadel: Honey Bunny' At Showsha Reel Awards 2025".
70. "Talentrack Awards Winners".
71. (July 10, 2024). "FC-Ormax Power List of Directors 2024: Raj & DK".

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