For nearly 38 years, Chilkuri Sushil Rao has been a remarkable traveller through the many worlds of storytelling — a journalist, filmmaker, performer, author, songwriter, and is now in his latest avatar as an AI generalist. The 57-year-old veteran journalist continues to reinvent himself with remarkable energy while staying firmly anchored in the fundamentals that make for the journalism that needs to be practiced.
He began his professional journey in 1988 working for an evening newspaper in Hyderabad. He is also among the first pioneering journalists on India’s private television channels during 1996. There is another first. He was one of the earliest writers for the internet, adapting effortlessly to the digital era in 1997.
Sushil Rao is a gold medalist in journalism from Osmania University in 1989. He has worked for several newspapers including Deccan Chronicle in two spells and this year in 2025, he completed a significant milestone of 25 years working for The Times of India, Hyderabad. He was part of the launch of the Hyderabad edition of the newspaper in September 2000. As Editor – Special Reports he focuses on reporting about defence, politics, culture, and the Indian diaspora with the same vibrant human curiosity that has guided him for 38 years.
Yet journalism is only one dimension of his rich and varied life. Sushil Rao also performs Burrakatha, a Telugu folk art form which is 1500 years old. He and his brothers and sister have given scores of memorable performances in churches and gatherings over the last 45 years. His recent performances were at the bustling metro stations in Hyderabad on the occasion of World Music Day in 2024 and 2025.
That deep respect for art led him to formal study. He has completed courses in Hindustani Music and Carnatic Music offered by IIT Madras.
Sushil began composing songs for Sunday school children since he was 14 years old. Several of these songs are now sung in Telugu churches across the world.
As his artistry deepened, so did his engagement with technology. He is Certified as an AI Generalist by The Economic Times. He has also studied Ethics of AI from the University of Helsinki. Sushil has also successfully completed a course in AI in Education offered by prestigious King’s College London.
His philosophy is simple yet profound: technology should enhance human creativity, not diminish it.
His cinematic work stands as visual testimony to that belief. He educated himself in filmmaking by doing a course offered by the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune. He has directed powerful documentaries which won awards at international film festivals. His documentary titled Oscar Challgariga which won acclaim is about lyricist Kanukuntla Subhash Chandra Bose who won an Oscar award for his song.
As an author, he has written books based on the Bible. He is also a TEDx speaker having spoken at three events in Hyderabad.
What drives Sushil Rao is his unwavering passion for truth, his boundless curiosity about the human condition, and his belief that every story deserves to be told with integrity, artistry, and heart.
