Upendra Rao

Upendra Rao known as Upendra, is an Indian filmmaker, actor and politician known for his work in Kannada cinema. He started his film career under actor and film director Kashinath, as a writer and an assistant director. His first directorial venture was Tharle Nan Maga (1992). He is currently one of the highest paid directors and actors in the Kannada cinema. In the mid 1990s Upendra directed Om, which portrayed actual Bangalore gangsters, followed by A, which was his debut film as an actor. Upendra, his next film, starred Raveena Tandon, a Bollywood actress. After a decade of acting in Kannada, Telugu and Tamil films, he returned to the role of director with the multilingual movie Super, which was well-received critically and commercially. Upendra is known for his work in films such as A (1998), Upendra (1999), Preethse (2000), Super Star (2002), Hollywood (2002), Raktha Kanneeru (2003), Budhivanta (2008), Super (2010), Kalpana (2012), S/O Satyamurthy (2015), Uppi 2 (2015). Upendra has thus established himself as one of the most successful actors and directors of Kannada cinema. Upendra directed movies didn't remaked in other languages. Upendra got Honorary Doctorate from Angkor University in 2015. Upendra is known for his thematic representation of Indian politics and society in films directed by him. In October 2017, he joined a political party Karnataka Pragnyavanta Janata Paksha. However, owing to internal differences he quit the party five months later promising to form another party based on the principles of Prajakiya (citizen-centric administration).