Mallidi Vassishta — born Mallidi Venkata Narayana Reddy in 1986 — is an Indian film-director, screenwriter and occasional actor, working primarily in Telugu cinema. He comes from a film background: his father, Mallidi Satyanarayana Reddy, was a producer and financier in the industry. Early in his career, Vassishta worked as an assistant director on several films throughout the 2000s; titles he contributed to include Naa Autograph (2004), Bunny (2005), Bhageeratha (2005), Dhee (2007), and Bodyguard (2012). He also tried acting — appearing in Premalekha Raasa (2007) — though that stint did not bring much success, and he soon refocused on direction. Vassishta made his directorial debut in 2022 with the fantasy-action film Bimbisara, which starred Nandamuri Kalyan Ram in a dual role. The film, blending time-travel fantasy with commercial elements, was well received and brought Vassishta widespread recognition — he also won the 2023 SIIMA Award for Best Debut Director - Telugu for it. Building on that success, he is currently directing the socio-fantasy project Vishwambhara, starring the legendary Chiranjeevi, under a major production banner. Vassishta is increasingly seen as a new-age filmmaker willing to merge fantasy, spectacle and commercial storytelling in Telugu cinema.