Initial years and critical acclaim He worked as an assistant director under his cousin,
Gangaraju Gunnam, for
Little Soldiers (1996). He also directed the first 10 episodes of the cult Telugu TV series,
Amrutham. After working as an assistant director, he made his debut as a director with the small-budgeted film,
Aithe (2003). Made on a budget of about 1.5 crores, it opened to critical acclaim and performed well commercially, with a box-office collection of 6 crores. After almost two years, he directed his next film,
Anukokunda Oka Roju (2005). Like his debut film,
Anukokunda Oka Raju too opened to critical acclaim and performed extremely well commercially. Both the films were produced by Gunnam Gangaraju and Venkat Dega, under
Just Yellow Media.
Aithe and
Anukokunda Oka Roju are considered to be the two of the greatest Telugu films ever made.
Commercial fluctuations After a gap of two years, he directed his third film with
Gopichand as the protagonist, titled
Okkadunnadu (2007). However, unlike his first two films,
Okkadunnadu released to polarizing reviews upon release. Gopichand's attmept to cater to different sections of the audience was praised, however, the film underperformed at the box-office. In 2009, Yeleti directed his fourth film,
Prayanam, with
Manchu Manoj as the lead actor. Though the attempt to revitalize the romantic comedy genre in
Telugu cinema was praised, it underperformed at the box-office as well. After four years, he teamed up with Gopichand in the with action adventure thriller,
Sahasam (2013). Unlike his previous two films,
Sahasam opened to positive reviews from both the critics and audience, alike, and was commercially successful. In October 2015, Yeleti met
Mohanlal and narrated a family subject to him. The script was green-lit by Mohanlal, and Yeleti started production for the
Telugu drama thriller, titled
Manamantha, with an ensemble supporting cast of
Gautami,
Viswant Duddumpudi,
Nassar,
Chandra Mohan,
Vennela Kishore,
Gollapudi Maruti Rao,
Paruchuri Venkateswara Rao,
Brahmaji,
L. B. Sriram, and Ayappa P. Sharma. It received positive reviews from the both critics and audience, alike, upon release. After a long gap of five years in 2021 owing to the declining commercial viability of theatrical releases during the
COVID-19 pandemic, Yeleti released his seventh film, the prison drama
Check, starring
Nithiin,
Rakul Preet Singh, and
Priya Prakash Varrier. It opened to mixed reviews from both the critics and audience, alike, upon release and failed at the box-office. ==Personal life==