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.
| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
| 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 | |
| 1998 | A | Surya | Also director |
| 1999 | Upendra | Naanu | Also director |
| 2000 | Preethse | Chandru | |
| 2002 | 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 | ||
| Anatharu | Rudra | ||
| Lava Kusha | Chakri | ||
| 2008 | Budhivanta | 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] | |
| 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] |
| 2023 | Kabzaa | Arkeshwara | |
| 2024 | UI | Sathya / Kalki / Upendra Rao [b] | Also director [4] |
| TBA | Buddhivantha† | TBA | Completed [5] |
| TBA | Thrishulam† | TBA | Filming [6] [7] |
| TBA | 45 † | TBA | Filming [8] |
| TBA | Karvva Navneeth Directorial † | TBA | Pre-Production [9] |
| TBA | Guerrilla war† | TBA | Announced |
| Year | Title | Roles | Language | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Omkaram | Narrator in the first scene | Telugu | Also director Voiceover for Kote Prabhakar |
| 1998 | Kanyadanam | Venkat | ||
| 2000 | Oke Maata | Sooryam | ||
| 2001 | Raa | Sridhar | ||
| 2002 | Neethone Vuntanu | Ravi | ||
| H2O | Udayashankar Gowda | Tamil | Kannada-Tamil bilingual | |
| 2007 | Toss | Neelakanta | Telugu | |
| 2008 | Satyam | Manickavel | Tamil | Tamil-Telugu bilingual film |
| Salute | Prathap Rudra | Telugu | ||
| 2015 | S/O Satyamurthy | Devaraj Naidu | ||
| 2022 | Ghani | Vikramaditya | ||
| 2025 | Coolie | Kaleesha | Tamil | |
| Andhra King Taluka † | "Andhra King" Surya Kumar | Telugu | Filming [10] |
| 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 | 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 | ||||
| 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 | |
| Year | Film | Song | Composer | Co-singer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 2011 | 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 | |
| 2014 | Super Ranga | "Ondsali Avala" | Harikrishna | |
| 2015 | Krishna-Leela | "Phoneammangu Simmappangu" | Sridhar V. | |
| 2015 | Uppi 2 | "Excuse Me Please" | Gurukiran | |
| 2016 | Kalpana 2 | "H2O Kudidivni" | Arjun Janya | Aishwarya Rangarajan |
| 2016 | Mukunda Murari | "I Am God, God is Great" | Arjun Janya | |
| 2019 | I Love You | "Life Ene T20" | Dr. Kiran Thaotambyle | Chethan Naik, Vasushree Halemane |