Upendra (actor)

Quality 0.50 · 2 views · Updated 2 months ago

Indian actor and politician

title: "Upendra (actor)" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["living-people", "kannada-film-directors", "telugu-film-directors", "male-actors-in-kannada-cinema", "male-actors-in-telugu-cinema", "male-actors-in-tamil-cinema", "20th-century-indian-male-actors", "21st-century-indian-male-actors", "filmfare-awards-south-winners", "kannada-language-playback-singers", "people-from-udupi-district", "indian-male-playback-singers", "male-actors-from-bengaluru", "film-directors-from-bengaluru", "kannada-screenwriters", "indian-lyricists", "kannada-language-lyricists", "indian-male-film-actors", "singers-from-bengaluru", "screenwriters-from-bengaluru", "indian-actor-politicians", "1967-births"] description: "Indian actor and politician" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upendra_(actor)" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Indian actor and politician ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

Field	Value
name	Upendra
image	Upendra at KLE Society's Law-College, Bangalore 2.jpg
caption	Upendra in 2021
birth_name	Upendra Rao
birth_date
birth_place	Koteshwara, Kundapura taluk, Udupi District, Mysore State (present-day Karnataka), India
other_names	Uppi
occupation
years_active	1989–present
works	Full list
party	Uttama Prajaakeeya Party
spouse
children	2
::

::callout[type=note] the Kannada actor and director ::

Upendra Rao (born 18 September 1967) is an Indian actor, film director, screenwriter, lyricist, playback singer, producer and politician, known for his work in Kannada cinema. He has also worked in a few Telugu and Tamil films.

In 2017, Upendra joined the political party Karnataka Pragnyavanta Janata Paksha, before quitting the party in 2018 due to internal differences and formed another party named Uttama Prajaakeeya Party (UPP), which was based on the principles of Prajākīya (citizen-centric administration). He received an Honorary Doctorate from Angkor University in 2015.

He started his film career as a writer and an assistant director with actor and film director Kashinath. His first directorial venture was Tharle Nan Maga (1992). In the mid-1990s, Upendra directed Om (1995) which emerged as a blockbuster at the box office and became a cult classic film. He later made the film in Telugu as Omkaram. This was followed by A, in which he debuted as an actor. The film went to be a major success and catapulted him to new heights of fame. His next film was the psychological thriller Upendra (1999), which became a cult film.After a decade of acting, he returned to directing with Super, which was well-received critically and commercially*. *

Upendra is known for his works in films such as Preethse (2000), Super Star (2002), Kutumba (2002), Gokarna (2002), Hollywood (2002), Raktha Kanneeru (2003), Gowramma (2005), Aishwarya (2006), Anatharu (2007), Budhivanta (2008), Kalpana (2012), Godfather (2012), S/O Satyamurthy (2015), Uppi 2 (2015), I Love You (2019), UI (2024) and Coolie (2025).

Early life

Upendra was born to Manjunath Rao and Anusuya in Bengaluru, on 18 September 1967. His father was from Thekkatte, Koteshwara, Kundapur Taluk, Udupi district in Karnataka, formerly Mysore State. He is the second son of his family, his older brother is Sudheendra Rao, who is an army officer. He obtained his Bachelor of Commerce degree from APS College of Commerce, Bangalore. During his time at the college, he participated in plays and often formed troupes with his friends. His association with actor and director Kashinath, a distant relative of his, began during his final year in college. Upendra was born in Pushya nakshatra and Simha lagna

Film career

Early years (1989–1999)

Upendra first appeared on screen making an appearance in Kashinath's 1989 comedy film, Anantana Avantara. He appeared as Lord Kamadeva in the song "Come On Come On Kaamanna". In Love Maadi Nodu starring Kashinath, he made a cameo appearance as a doctor. In Ajagajantara, directed by Kashinath, he made a cameo appearance. In his directorial debut, Shhh! (1993), Upendra made another cameo appearance, like a mad man in the attire of a police officer barging into a film set. In his 1995 directorial Operation Antha, he appears as a man urinating on a roadside wall and explains of India's ways to a complaining Mandakini (played by Sangeetha).

Upendra assisted filmmaker Kashinath in various departments apart from assisting in writing songs, dialogues, and screenplay for his films. He co-directed a film with Kashinath. Upendra started as a director with a typical Kashinath style comedy called Tharle Nan Maga in 1992. The film introduced famed comedian Jaggesh. It went on to be a success and has since achieved a cult following. Upendra directed a horror suspense thriller next called Shhh! in 1993. The film featured Kashinath and a young producer and actor, Kumar Govind. The film was a major box office success, and Upendra came out as an independent director.

Upendra's next film was a crime drama titled Om, (1995), which he wrote after being inspired by a real incident in the 1980s. Shiva Rajkumar played a gangster, Sathya, alongside other real-life gangsters who appeared in cameos. Prema played the female lead. The film's unique story-telling in the form of multiple flashback sequences supporting the plotline won critical praise and was also a major commercial success. This film too went on to attain cult status among Kannada audiences.

Upendra turned towards a project to direct an extended version of the 1981 film Antha and called it Operation Antha. The film had Ambareesh reprise his role from Antha as both Sushil Kumar and Kanwar Lal. The film was not very successful; it was also controversial for its taunts on some real-life political figures.

In 1997, Upendra directed A, through which he made a successful transition to acting. There were rumors that it was Upendra's own story, and the actress in the film portrayed his protege Prema. This added to the film's popularity and it broke many box office records upon release and went on to become one of the highest grossing Kannada films of its time. The film had a 175-day run in Karnataka was also dubbed to Telugu, and repeated its success in Andhra Pradesh too, where it had a 100-day run. The film won accolades from Bollywood personalities like Amitabh Bachchan and Anil Kapoor. Upendra was now a big name in Kannada cinema and was also popular in Andhra Pradesh.

In 1998, Upendra directed and starred in A, which was his fifth film as a director but his first lead role as a hero. The film had a 175-day run Due to Upendra's newly found popularity in Telugu, Telugu director E. V. V. Satyanarayana cast him in the 1998 Telugu film Kanyadanam alongside Srikanth and Rachana, which also became a commercial success. In 1999 Upendra again directed and starred in his self-titled film Upendra which starred Bollywood actress Raveena Tandon. The film went on to become a bigger hit than A, both in Karnataka as well as in Andhra Pradesh. The film had a 200 days run in Karnataka and 100 days run in Andhra Pradesh.

Upendra's next movie was Swasthik with lead Raghavendra Rajkumar, which was released in 1998. The film performed averagely at the box office but critically well received.

In 1999, Upendra made a self-titled film, Upendra. Upendra acted in this film as the unnamed protagonist (or antagonist) Naanu (I or Myself). The film starred three heroines: Damini, Prema, and Bollywood actress Raveena Tandon. Naanu was an arrogant character and was very demeaning towards women, bordering on misogyny; which led to a lot of criticism on the film. and its Telugu version had a 100-day run in Andhra Pradesh. Since then, Upendra gave up directing and concentrated more on his acting career.

Acting career (2000-2009)

In 2000, Upendra starred opposite Bollywood actress Sonali Bendre in the psychological thriller Preethse which was a remake of Bollywood film Darr. Preethse became Upendra's third consecutive blockbuster With three back-to-back highly received films, Upendra became well known in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. the other two films were box office failures causing Upendra to take a break from straight Telugu films.

In 2002, Upendra acted in less-received films such as H2O, Super Star, Hollywood, Nagarahavu and Naanu Naane for not meeting expectations and having average run at the box office.

From 2003 to 2005 he starred in 5 back-to-back films that each ran for 100 days such as Kutumba, Raktha Kanneeru, Gokarna, Gowramma, and Auto Shankar; all of which were well received at the box office. Only two films of Upendra in this time were received poorly: Omkara and News.

Upendra had a less successful phase from 2006 to 2009, as most of his films during this period went unnoticed at the box office such as Uppi Dada M.B.B.S., Tandege Takka Maga, Parodi, Masti, Toss (Telugu), Lava Kusha, Sathyam (Tamil), Dubai Babu and Rajini.

The only commercial well-received films he acted in during this period were the candy floss romantic comedy Aishwarya, which ran for 75 days, and the moderately successful Anatharu which ran for 70 days. Upendra received praise and critical acclaim for his performance in Anatharu.

Budhivanta, which was Upendra's only release in 2008, was considered as his big comeback. The film was declared a blockbuster and ran for 100 days; it became the top box office grosser of the year. Budhivantas Telugu dub was also well-received and ran for 50 days in Andhra Pradesh.

Comeback as director and double roles (2010-2019)

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/Upendra_at_KLE_Society's_Law-College,_Bangalore_6.jpg" caption="Upendra with a fan on stage during his visit to [[KLE Society's Law College]], Bangalore, in 2019"] ::

2010 marked Upendra's comeback to directing after 10 years. After several ups and downs in his acting career, Upendra came back to direct and act in the 2010 film Super in which he starred alongside Tamil actress Nayantara and Tulip Joshi. The movie was released in a record number of theatres all over Karnataka and was also dubbed into Telugu and released in Andhra Pradesh. Super broke many box office records upon release and completing 175 days of the run, becoming one of the highest-grossing critically acclaimed Kannada films of 2010.

In 2011, Tamil actor Rajinikanth attended a private screening of Super in Bangalore. Rajinikanth watched the film along with Upendra and a couple of friends. "Upendra is a great actor and director. There is hardly anyone in Indian Cinema, who would think like him. Only he can think like that. I like watching Upendra's films, and this was no exception. If I get an opportunity and an impressive script, I'd like to act in a Upendra film in the future," said Rajini.

Upendra then starred in films like Shrimathi (2011) opposite his wife Priyanka Trivedi and Bollywood actress Celina Jaitly, and Aarakshaka (2012). In 2012, Upendra starred in several commercially successful films such as 3D fantasy film Katari Veera Surasundarangi which was well-received and became the second-highest-grossing film of the year, followed by Godfather which performed above average, and the horror-comedy film Kalpana which performed average at the box office.

Upendra's films from 2013 to 2015 such as Topiwala (2013), Brahma (2014), Super Ranga (2014) and Shivam (2015) performed poorly in theatres.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/Shanshank,_Upendra_2.jpg" caption="Shashank]], Upendra in 2019"] ::

In 2015, Upendra directed and starred in a sequel to his 1999 film Upendra, titled Uppi 2. As it was a sequel to Upendra and his comeback as a director after 5 years, expectations and the resulting hype was high before it released. The film was simultaneously released in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and the US in over 600 theaters. Upon release, the film set records for the highest grossing opening day for a Kannada movie. Although the film got mixed responses because of its confusing storyline and screenplay, it was commercially successful and profitable with a 50-day theatrical run. It sold the second-highest number of tickets in online ticket sales on Bookmyshow among Kannada movies in 2015. It was also successful outside of India and became the second-highest-grossing Kannada film of all time in US.

In 2015, Upendra starred alongside Allu Arjun in the Telugu film S/O Satyamurthy that was directed by Trivikram Srinivas. The film was declared a hit, grossing 92 crores and netting over 60 crores at the global box office, becoming the seventh-highest-grossing Telugu film of all time worldwide.

In 2016, Upendra starred in a sequel to his earlier hit horror film Kalpana titled as Kalpana 2 which became an average grosser at the box office. He also starred along with Sudeep in the remake of Bollywood film OMG titled as Mukunda Murari, which became a box office success and had a 50-day run. In 2017, he starred in the remake of Soggade Chinni Nayana titled Upendra Matte Baa. N Arun Lokanath, who directed Upendra's critically-acclaimed H2O, is collaborating with the actor again after a gap of 15 years. In 2019, he starred in I Love You, which released to positive reviews.

2022-present

In 2022, he starred in Home Minister and made a comeback to Telugu cinema with Ghani in a brief role.

In 2023, he starred in Kabzaa, which had a similar theme to the KGF series. Upendra launched his next directorial, UI (2024).{{Cite news |title=Upendra directorial ‘UI’ gets a new release date |url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/upendra-directorial-ui-gets-a-new-release-date/article68755804.ece |access-date=2024-10-15 |work=The Hindu}}

He also plays an extended cameo role in director Lokesh Kanagaraj's Coolie (2025) starring Rajinikanth, which marks his return to Tamil cinema after Satyam (2008) starring Vishal. He is starring alongside Shiva Rajkumar in Arjun Janya's directorial 45 (2025).

Political career

Main article: Uttama Prajaakeeya Party

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/Upendra_(05).jpg" caption="Upendra promoting his political party ''′Uttama Prajaakeeya Party′''"] ::

He started the political party Uttama Prajaakeeya Party in 2018, under the concept of "Prajaakeeya"which represents the workers. Although he has strictly kept himself away from contesting in any elections, UPP had candidates across all the constituencies in Karnataka in the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections.

Craft and style

Upendra's films have been praised and criticized for their unusual plotlines and screenplay. During a radio interview, Upendra expressed his disappointment at being labeled as a "different director" and explained that most of his directorial ventures deal with the things that he had undergone in his real life. He said, in regards to his non-linear narrative, that "when one wants to capture the upheavals in one's mind, it becomes a jumble. Our mind is like that, always confused."

The subject of the films coupled with Uppi's novel approach made headlines for mixed reasons. Upendra added that in his self-titled film he explored human nature which "ended with "Aham Brahmaasmi", where I wanted to say rise above I."

Personal life

Family

On 14 December 2003, Upendra married actress and former Miss Kolkata Priyanka Trivedi, who first starred opposite him in the Telugu movie Raa and then in H2O. Upendra and his family now reside in Bengaluru.

Endorsements

Upendra has endorsed a number of brands. Upendra has been the brand ambassador of the United Breweries, Lunars Footwear, SK Super TMT, Royal Challengers Bangalore (replaced by Puneeth Rajkumar in IPL 3), Mavalli Tiffin Room (MTR), Bangalore Electricity Supply Company, Emani Navaratna Brand, Karnataka Milk Federation (Nandini), Udayavani News Daily.

Filmography

Main article: Upendra filmography

Awards and nominations

::data[format=table]

Year	Film	Award	Category	Result	Ref.
1999	A	Udaya Film Awards	Best Male Actor
Best Director
46th Filmfare Awards South	Best Director
2000	Upendra	47th Filmfare Awards South	Best Director
Best Film
2003	Nagarahavu	Udaya Film Awards	Best Male Actor
50th Filmfare Awards South	Best Actor
2004	Raktha Kanneeru	Hello Gandhinagara Awards 2004	Best Actor
Hello Gandhinagara Awards 2004	Best Dialogue
51st Filmfare Awards South	Best Actor
2008	Anatharu	Suvarna Film Awards	Special Award For Performance
55th Filmfare Awards South	Best Actor
Udaya Film Awards	Best Male Actor		url=http://www.chinokino.com/2013/03/2013-udaya-film-awards-winners.html	title=2013 Udaya Film Awards – winners	first=David
2009	Budhivanta	56th Filmfare Awards South	Best Actor
2011	Super	Udaya Film Awards	Best Screenplay
Best Director
Best Male Actor
Suvarna Film Awards	Favorite Director Award
Favorite Film
58th Filmfare Awards South	Best Director
Best Actor
Best Playback Singer- Male for "Sikka Patte"
2012	Karnataka State Film Awards	Karnataka State Film Award for Best Director
Karnataka State Film Awards	Karnataka State Film Award for Best Film
2012	Shrimathi	1st SIIMA Awards	Special Appreciation Award
2013	Kalpana	Udaya Film Awards	Best Male Actor
Suvarna Film Awards	Best Male Actor
2013	Katariveera Surasundarangi	2nd SIIMA Award	Critics Award for Best Actor		url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/kannada/movies/news-interviews/Shivarajkumar-is-Best-Actor-Priya-Mani-Best-Actress-at-SIIMA/articleshow/22573778.cms
2013	Godfather	Bangalore Times Film Awards	Best Male Actor in a Negative Role
2014	Topiwala	3rd SIIMA Awards	Best Actor
2016	S/O Satyamurthy	5th SIIMA Awards	Best Actor in a Supporting Role
2016	Uppi 2	5th SIIMA Awards	Best Film
Best Director
Best Actor
2025	UI	13th SIIMA Awards	Best Director
::

; Other honours

2015 Honorary Doctorate from Angkor University

References

(31 October 2017). "Kannada film actor Upendra unveils name of his new political outfit". The Times of India.
(31 October 2017). "Karnataka Pragnavantha Janatha Paksha(KPJP)". The News Minute.
"Happy Birthday Upendra Rao: Super to Raktha Kanneeru, 5 Best Works of the Star". News 18.
(2022-01-23). "This Day, That Year: Upendra's debut as hero, the cult classic 'A' turns 24". The Times of India.
"Birthday special: 5 movies that prove Upendra is the 'Real Star' of Kannada cinema". Deccan Herald.
(14 June 2008). "Excited Upendra on Tamil Film 'Sathyam'".
(22 December 2010). "Upendra Kannada Film Super Box Office Report, Collections". Cinemagupshup.com.
(20 September 2014). "Weekend With Ramesh — Episode 15 – September 20, 2014". Zee Kannada.
(19 January 2018). "Kashinath was a film university in himself: Upendra".
(18 September 2018). "Happy Birthday Upendra: When the Kannada star beat Shah Rukh Khan to romance Deepika Padukone".
(25 September 2017). "Upendra's 'Shhh' to release again after 24 years".
(23 May 2020). "25 years of gangster film 'Om'".
"Uppi ... RealStar from Tharle Nan Maga to Uppi 2".
"Upendra Movies".
(19 September 2010). "'A' film Producer Jagannath Departs".
"Kannada stars in other languages – Gandhadagudi Forum".
"Upendra ups and downs".
(24 March 2002). "He's 'different'". Deccan Herald.
"TC Star Interviews – Upendra".
"Upendra Super Telugu version".
(29 September 2008). "Nallamalupu Bujji interview – Telugu Cinema interview – Telugu film producer". IdleBrain.
(10 July 2007). "TC Star Interviews - Upendra". [[Telugucinema.com]].
(January 2010). "Kannada films 2009 – BO Report".
"Upendra – Achievements & Accolades".
(30 December 2008). "Kannada films 2008 Report".
(6 January 2009). "Buddhivatha completes 100 days".
"Upendra's 'Buddhivantha' – The Top Grosser of 2008".
(7 December 2010). "Upendra's Super released in record number of theaters".
Madhu Daithota. (30 January 2011). "I like watching Upendra's films: Rajinikanth". [[The Times of India]].
Shekhar H Hooli. (29 January 2011). "Rajinikanth describes Upendra's Super as different film". Oneindia Entertainment.
(17 January 2013). "Best Kannada Actor of 2012".
"Top 10 Grossers of 2012". Mumbai Mirror.
(27 December 2014). "Average and Top Flops of 2014".
"'Uppi 2' (Upendra 2) Review: Upendra Cooks Delicious Food but it is Difficult to Digest!". IBTimes.
"Uppi2 in 250 Screens".
"Why is 'Uppi 2′ getting delayed?". Ytalkies.
"Upendra's Directorial Comeback 'Uppi 2' Set for Release Soon". IBTimes.
"Uppi-2 to release in 600 theatres". Ytalkies.
"'Uppi 2' Box Office Collection: Upendra Directorial Makes Fantastic Business in 2 Days". IBTimes.
"Uppi 2 Weekend (3 Days) Box Office Collection: Collects 45 Crores!". Filmibeat.
"Uppi 2 Completes 50 Days". Chitraloka.
"The Best of 2015". Bookmyshow.
(25 September 2015). "RangiTaranga scores above all Kannada films". The Times of India.
Pudipeddi, Haricharan. (17 June 2015). "Allu Arjun turns down Rs. 12 cr dance deal". Bangalore Mirror.
IANS. (8 May 2015). "Allu Arjun's 'S/O Satyamurthy' enters list of all-time top ten moneyspinners". [[IBN Live]].
(22 December 2016). "Sandalwood 2016: Highest-grossing Kannada movies of 2016 at the box office". International Business Times.
(16 December 2016). "Mukunda Murari And Santhu Straight Forward Completes 50 Days". Chitrolka.
"Upendra Matte Baa movie review: Live audience response". Ib Times.
"I Love You Movie Review: Upendra’s signature style gives a classic touch to this romantic drama". Cinema Express.
"Home Minister Movie Review: A family entertainer that addresses an important issue". Cinema Express.
"Home Ghani Movie Review: A sports drama that lacks punch". The Times of India.
"I don’t mind Kabzaa being compared to KGF: R Chandru". The Times of India.
(2024-09-01). "'Coolie': Upendra plays Kaleesha in Rajinikanth's film".
"Upendra on Coolie Cameo: 'Just Standing Beside Rajinikanth Was Enough'".
"45 trailer reveals a moral world where every action is counted". Cinema Express.
(28 March 2018). "Karnataka assembly elections 2018: Upendra, Ramya, other Sandalwood star campaigners and contestants – IBTimes India".
(1 April 2019). "Uttama Prajakeeya Party Candidate list – LS 2019 – Bangalorean".
(2012-11-28). "He's 'different' - Deccan Herald".
(3 December 2010). "Upendra says, "I'm not at all different director."". Oneindia.
bgbnd. "Entertainment Bangalore : Uppi's hardly uppity". [[The Hindu]].
(28 June 2008). "The importance of being Uppi". The Hindu.
(16 December 2003). "Upendra wedding comes as a shocker!". The Times of India.
"Brand Ambassadors of Kannada Film Industry".
(4 March 2013). "Udaya film Awards won by Upendra".
"Filmfare Awards 1999".
(20 April 2000). "Filmfare Awards 2000". [[The Hindu]].
"Hello Gandhinagara Awards 2004".
"51'st Filmfare Awards Nominations".
"Gandhadagudi Forum – Upendra Suvarna Award for Anatharu".
"55'th Filmfare Awards Nominations".
Eng, David. "2013 Udaya Film Awards – winners".
"56'th Filmfare Awards Nominations".
Shekhar Hooli. (29 June 2011). "Suvarna Film Awards 2011".
"58th South Filmfare Awards - Winners".
(11 April 2012). "Karnataka State Film Awards 2012".
(24 June 2012). "SIIMA Awards 2012 Results".
"Udaya film Awards 2013 Results".
(14 September 2013). "Shivarajkumar is Best Actor; Priya Mani Best Actress at SIIMA". The Times of India.
"SIIMA 2016 Telugu movie nominations revealed; 'Baahubali,' 'Srimanthudu' lead the list5".
"5th SIIMA WINNERS LIST".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::