Upendra filmography
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Upendra is an Indian actor and director known primarily for his work in Kannada cinema. He began his career writing dialogues and lyrics for soundtrack in Kannada films.[1] He then started out as a director making his debut in 1992 with Tharle Nan Maga. In a career spanning over 25 years, he has directed 10 films and acted in over 60 films.
Filmography
| † | Denotes film or TV productions that have not yet been released |
As an actor
- Note: all films are in Kannada, unless otherwise noted.
| Year | Title | Roles | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Anantana Avantara | Kamadeva | Cameo appearance | |
| Love Maadi Nodu | Doctor | |||
| 1991 | Ajagajantara | Groom | ||
| 1993 | Shhh! | Fake Police officer | Also director; Cameo appearance | |
| 1995 | Om | Deena | Also director Voiceover for Kote Prabhakar |
|
| Operation Antha | Bystander | Also director; Cameo appearance | ||
| 1997 | Omkaram | Narrator in the first scene | Telugu film; also director Voiceover for Kote Prabhakar |
|
| 1998 | A | Surya | Also director | |
| Kanyadanam | Venkat | Telugu film | ||
| 1999 | Upendra | Naanu | Also director | |
| 2000 | Preethse | Chandru | ||
| Oke Maata | Sooryam | |||
| 2001 | Raa | Sridhar | ||
| 2002 | Neethone Vuntanu | Ravi | Telugu film | |
| H2O | Udayashankar Gowda | Kannada-Tamil bilingual film | ||
| Super Star | Ricky / Deependra[a] | |||
| Nagarahavu | Ajay | |||
| Naanu Naane | Raja | |||
| Hollywood | Upendra / Surendra / Robot US47[b] | |||
| 2003 | Kutumba | Vijay | ||
| Rakta Kanneeru | Mohan | |||
| Gokarna | Sidda | |||
| 2004 | Omkara | Sathya | ||
| 2005 | Gowramma | Venkat Swamy | ||
| News | Guru | |||
| Auto Shankar | Shankar | |||
| 2006 | Uppi Dada M.B.B.S. | Rao Bahaddur Upendra | ||
| Thandege Thakka Maga | Sathya | |||
| Aishwarya | Abhishek Hegde | |||
| 2007 | Parodi | Vijay | ||
| Masti | Siddappaji | |||
| Toss | Neelakanta | Telugu film | ||
| Anatharu | Rudra | |||
| Lava Kusha | Chakri | |||
| 2008 | Satyam | Manickavel | Tamil-Telugu bilingual film | |
| Salute | Prathap Rudra | |||
| Buddhivanta | Panchamrutha[c] | Seven roles | ||
| Mast Maja Maadi | Himself | Cameo appearance | ||
| 2009 | Dubai Babu | Babu | ||
| Rajani | Rajani | |||
| 2010 | Super | Subhash Chandra Gandhi | Also director | |
| 2011 | Shrimathi | Raj Kumar | ||
| Maryade Ramanna | Cycle (voice) | Voice role | [2] | |
| 2012 | Aarakshaka | Arun / Vishnu[a] | ||
| Katari Veera Surasundarangi | Upendra / Mohan / Mass Manava Temporary Yama[b] | |||
| Godfather | Shiva / Ajay / Vijay[b] | |||
| Kalpana | Raghava | |||
| 2013 | Topiwala | Basak | ||
| 2014 | Brahma | Brahma | ||
| Super Ranga | Sriranga | |||
| 2015 | Shivam | Basavanna / Alexander[a] | ||
| S/O Satyamurthy | Devaraj Naidu | Telugu film | ||
| Uppi 2 | Naanu / Neenu[a] | Also director | ||
| 2016 | Kalpana 2 | Raghava / Jade Shivu[a] | ||
| Mukunda Murari | Mukunda | |||
| 2017 | Upendra Matte Baa | Upendra / Surendra[a] | ||
| 2019 | I Love You | Santosh | ||
| 2022 | Home Minister | Renuka Prasad | [3] | |
| Ghani | Vikramaditya | Telugu film | ||
| 2023 | Kabzaa | Arkeshwara | ||
| 2024 | UI | Sathya / Kalki / Upendra Rao[b] | Also director | [4] |
| 2025 | Coolie | Kaleesha | Tamil film | |
| Andhra King Taluka | "Andhra King" Surya Kumar | Telugu film | [5] | |
| 45 | Rayappa | [6] | ||
| 2026 | Raktha Kashmira | Devendra/ Bheema[a] | [7] | |
| TBA | Buddhivantha 2 † | TBA | Completed | [8] |
| TBA | Thrishulam † | TBA | Filming | [9][10] |
| TBA | Bhargava † | TBA | Filming | [7] |
As director, writer and lyricist
| Year | Film | Credited as | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director | Writer | Lyricist | |||
| 1989 | Anantana Avantara | ||||
| Love Maadi Nodu | Dialogue | ||||
| 1990 | Kaliyuga Krishna | ||||
| Aata Bombata | |||||
| 1991 | Nanagoo Hendthi Beku | Dialogue | |||
| 1992 | Sriramachandra | Dialogue | |||
| Tharle Nan Maga | Directorial Debut Film, Also choreographer | ||||
| 1993 | Shhh! | ||||
| 1995 | Om | ||||
| Operation Antha | |||||
| 1997 | Omkaram | Telugu film | |||
| 1998 | Swasthik | ||||
| A | |||||
| 1999 | Upendra | ||||
| 2001 | Raa | Screenplay | Telugu film | ||
| 2002 | H2O | Kannada-Tamil bilingual | |||
| Super Star | |||||
| Hollywood | |||||
| 2003 | Rakta Kanneeru | ||||
| 2005 | Gowramma | Dialogue | |||
| 2006 | Uppi Dada M.B.B.S. | Dialogue | |||
| Aishwarya | |||||
| 2007 | Parodi | ||||
| Lava Kusha | |||||
| 2009 | Dubai Babu | ||||
| 2010 | Super | ||||
| 2012 | Aarakshaka | ||||
| Katari Veera Surasundarangi | |||||
| 2013 | Topiwala | ||||
| 2015 | Uppi 2 | ||||
| 2024 | UI | Directorial Final Film | |||
As narrator
| Year | Title | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Ragini IPS | [11] | |
| 2022 | Ponniyin Selvan: I | Kannada dubbed version trailer | [12] |
| 2023 | Ponniyin Selvan: II | Kannada dubbed version trailer |
Discography
| Year | Film | Song | Composer | Co-singer(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Upendra | "Uppiganta Ruchi Bere Illa" | Gurukiran | ||
| 2002 | H2O | "Bida Byada", "Dil Ilde Love" | Sadhu Kokila | ||
| 2002 | Nagarahavu | "Yaaking Aadthiye" | Hamsalekha | Anuradha Sriram | |
| 2003 | Rakta Kanneeru | "Baa Baaro Rasika" | Sadhu Kokila | Sowmya Raoh | |
| 2004 | Omkara | "Othla Othla" | Gurukiran | Shamitha Malnad | |
| 2006 | Uppi Dada M.B.B.S. | "Makkar Maado Maliniye" | R. P. Patnaik | ||
| "M Andre" | |||||
| Aishwarya | "Yella Okay Madhuve Yaake" | Rajesh Ramanath | |||
| 2007 | Parodi | "Rowdy Mele" | Rajesh Ramanath | ||
| 2008 | Budhivanta | "Chitranna" | Vijay Antony | Sangeetha Rajeshwaran | |
| 2010 | Super | "Sikkapatte Ishtapatte" | V. Harikrishna | ||
| 2011 | Jogayya | "Thagalakonde" | V. Harikrishna | Priya Himesh | |
| Jarasandha | "Pade Pade Phone-inalli" | V Harikrishna | Priya Himesh | ||
| 2012 | Katari Veera Surasundarangi | "Muthinantha Muthondhu" | Harikrishna | ||
| 2013 | Brindavana | "Oye Kalla" | Harikrishna | Indu Nagaraj | |
| 2014 | Jai Lalitha | "Thorisabedammi" | Sridhar V. Sambhram | ||
| Super Ranga | "Ondsali Avala" | Harikrishna | |||
| 2015 | Krishna-Leela | "Phoneammangu Simmappangu" | Sridhar V. | ||
| Uppi 2 | "Excuse Me Please" | Gurukiran | |||
| 2016 | Kalpana 2 | "H2O Kudidivni" | Arjun Janya | Aishwarya Rangarajan | |
| Dombarata | Tulu film[13] | ||||
| Mukunda Murari | "I Am God, God is Great" | Arjun Janya | |||
| 2019 | I Love You | "Life Ene T20" | Dr. Kiran Thaotambyle | Chethan Naik, Vasushree Halemane |
Notes
References
- ^ "Upendra started his career as a dialogue writer". The Times of India. 2 January 2015. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
- ^ "Review: Maryade Ramanna relies on Komal's comedy". Rediff.com. 26 September 2011.
- ^ "Uppi for Home Minister". The New Indian Express. 20 August 2018. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
- ^ "Upendra stuns with an audio-only 'UI' teaser". The New Indian Express. 20 September 2023. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
- ^ "Ram Pothineni is Sagar in 'Andhra King Taluka'; Title teaser out now". The Times of India. 15 May 2025. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 15 May 2025.
- ^ "Kannada Star Upendra Joins The Cast of Shivarajkumar's 45". News18. 3 October 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
- ^ a b Sharadhaa, A. (1 January 2026). "CE Year in Preview: The Grand 2026 Rollout in Kannada cinema". Cinema Express. Retrieved 2 January 2026.
- ^ "Upendra's 'Buddhivantha 2' is to release on this date". The New Indian Express. 26 July 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
- ^ R, Shilpa Sebastian (9 January 2019). "On the sets of the film 'Ravi Chandra'". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
- ^ "Upendra: ರವಿಚಂದ್ರನ್-ಉಪೇಂದ್ರ ಕಾಂಬಿನೇಷನ್ನ ಸಿನಿಮಾಕ್ಕೆ ಮತ್ತೊಮ್ಮೆ ಶೀರ್ಷಿಕೆ ಚೇಂಜ್!". Vijaya Karnataka (in Kannada). Retrieved 18 September 2020.
- ^ "Upendra lends voice for Kannada film 'Ragini IPS'". ibnlive.com. 8 October 2013. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
- ^ "These star heroes give voice-over for Mani Ratnam's Ponniyin Selvan – 1 | Latest Telugu cinema news | Movie reviews | OTT Updates, OTT". 27 September 2022.
- ^ "Tulu movie 'Dombarata' to release in Gulf counties on Sept 22". Daijiworld.com. 14 September 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2025.