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V S Rao (Vakkantham Suryanarayana Rao) is a celebrated Telugu author, playwright and script writer. He was born in 1942 at Arikela, a remote village near Punganuru in Andhra Pradesh and has a high school education.

He wrote his first story, which was for children while still a child himself. His father Mr. Varadaiah, who was a lover of literature recognized his son's incipient talent and encouraged him to read extensively, Mr. Rao thus went on to become a voracious reader and writer par excellence. Later Mr. Temporau, the pioneer of Telugu pocket detective fiction, became his mentor.

Mr. Rao's works include short stories, novels, plays and philosophical articles. Mr. Rao has a number of titles to his credit under the nom de plume V S Rao, Baatasaari, Koundinya, Suryaatreya and Chitrabhanu. While working s translator in one of the wings of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, he has translated a number of Kannada religious books into Telugu.

His extensive epic-based works include Navagraha Puranam which has sold more than one lakh copies. His plays explore societal issues and mythology, while his books run the gamut from philosophy and social concerns to thrillers and drama. His writing is largely women-centric, and passionately highlights women's issues.

Mr. Rao is the recipient of numerous literary awards for his plays and prizes for novels. His short story MODEL was anthologized in the Bharateeya anapith's Visishta Bhaarateeya Kahaniyan and his literary work has been the thesis of a doctorate awarded by Sri Venkateswara University. Mr. Rao is the father of three sons including Vakkantham Vamsi, a reputed Telugu screen writer. He lives in Hyderabad with his family.