Srikanth Bolla was born in a rice farmer family in Sitarampuram, Machilipatnam district of Andhra Pradesh. He remained a brilliant student throughout his life. Initially he was denied science by all Indian schools. In fact, when he was born, his relatives had told his parents that he would prove to be a burden on them. But life had something else planned for him.
He went to study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US, as the first international blind student to be admitted with 100 percent financial aid.
A biopic on the inspirational journey of Srikanth Bola is being made with actor Rajkumar Rao in the lead. He played the role of Srikanth, which depicts his struggles as a visually impaired boy in school, his village and later in his college.
Srikanth’s school did not allow him to study science and mathematics because state law did not allow it. He believed that blind students would find it challenging to make pictures and graphs, which is an important part of the science curriculum. But he did not give up and took the board to court with the help of his teacher. All state board schools in Andhra Pradesh were allowed to admit visually impaired students in the science stream.
This was the beginning of his fight against the traditional education system of the country. After this he was refused IIT coaching in the major coaching schools of the country.
Srikanth did not accept defeat. Instead he applied to universities in the US and received five offers, enrolling at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He also represented India in cricket and played chess at the national level.
After completing his education, Srikanth returned to Hyderabad in 2012 to form Bolant Industries. His company manufactures eco-friendly products and provides employment to people with disabilities. His hard work and educational qualifications give him a distinct identity in his field. He was named in the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders 2021 list.