Upendra (actor)

Upendra Rao (born 18 September 1968) 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).