Upendra Rao

Upendra Rao Biography

Upendra Rao, known professionally as Upendra and nicknamed “Uppi”, is an Indian actor, film director, screenwriter, lyricist, playback singer, producer and politician who works mainly in Kannada cinema, with occasional Telugu and Tamil films. He was born on 18 September 1968 to Manjunath Rao and Anusuya; the family is from Thekkatte, Koteshwara, in Kundapur taluk of Udupi district, Karnataka. His elder brother, Sudheendra Rao, is an army officer. Upendra took a Bachelor of Commerce degree at APS College of Commerce, Bangalore.

He entered films in 1989 as a writer and assistant director with the actor-filmmaker Kashinath, and made his directorial debut with Tharle Nan Maga (1992). Om (1995), which he directed, became a landmark Kannada hit, and he made his acting debut in A (1998), which he also directed. The psychological drama Upendra (1999) won him the Filmfare Award South for Best Director and Best Film. He returned to direction with Super (2010), Uppi 2 (2015) and UI (2024), the last of which brought him the Best Director prize at the 13th SIIMA Awards in 2025. He received an honorary doctorate from Angkor University in 2015.

Upendra married the actress Priyanka Trivedi, known professionally as Priyanka Upendra, on 14 December 2003; the couple have two children and live in Bengaluru. In politics he joined Karnataka Pragnyavanta Janata Paksha in 2017 and left the following year to found the Uttama Prajaakeeya Party, which fielded candidates across Karnataka in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, although he has never contested an election himself. In August 2023 an FIR was registered against him under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act over remarks made in a social-media live stream marking his party’s anniversary; he deleted the stream and issued a public apology. In September 2025 he and Priyanka Upendra were the victims of a cyber fraud in which roughly Rs 1.5 lakh was siphoned off after their phones and WhatsApp accounts were hacked; Bengaluru police arrested an accused from Bihar and reported the arrest in November 2025.

Basic Details

• Full Name: Upendra Rao
• Also Known As: Upendra, Uppi
• Profession: Actor, director, screenwriter, lyricist, playback singer, producer, politician
• Date of Birth: 18 September 1968
• Age: 57 (as of July 2026)
• Family Origin: Thekkatte, Koteshwara, Kundapur taluk, Udupi district, Karnataka, India
• Parents: Manjunath Rao and Anusuya
• Sibling: Sudheendra Rao (elder brother)
• Spouse: Priyanka Upendra (née Priyanka Trivedi), married 14 December 2003
• Children: Two
• Education: Bachelor of Commerce, APS College of Commerce, Bangalore
• Political Party: Uttama Prajaakeeya Party (founded 2018)
• Years Active: 1989 – present

Career Highlights