Upendra Rao (known mononymously as Upendra; born 18 September 1968) is an Indian actor, filmmaker, producer, screenwriter and politician who works primarily in Kannada cinema. Upendra has also worked in Telugu films . 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, followed by A, in which he debuted as an actor. His next film Upendra starred Raveena Tandon, a Bollywood actress. After a decade of acting in Kannada and several Telugu films, he returned to directing with Kannada film 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), Kutumba (2002), Gokarna (2002), Hollywood (2002), Raktha Kanneeru (2003), Gowramma (2005), Aishwarya (2006), Anatharu (2007), Budhivanta (2008), Super (2010), Kalpana (2012), Godfather (2012), S/O Satyamurthy (2015), Uppi 2 (2015), I Love You (2019). Upendra is known for his thematic representation of Indian politics and society in his films. In October 2017, He joined the political party Karnataka Pragnyavanta Janata Paksha, before quitting the party in March 2018 due to internal differences and formed another party named Uttama Prajakeeya Party (UPP), which is based on the principles of Prajakiya (citizen-centric administration). Upendra got an Honorary Doctorate from Angkor University in 2015. Early life Upendra was born to Manjunath Rao and Anusuya in Bangalore 18 September 1968. His father was from Thekkatte, Koteshwara, Kundapur Taluk, Udupi district in Karnataka (formerly Mysore State) Kannada family. He is the second son; his older brother is Sudheendra Rao. Rao's family was poor. As a baby, he had an eye problem, the result of which can be seen when he rolls his eyeballs in many film sequences. He obtained his Bachelor of Commerce degree from APS College of Commerce, Bangalore. During his time at the college, he participated in plays and often formed troupes with his friends. His association with actor and director Kashinath, a distant relative of his, began during his final year in college. Film career As a director He assisted director Kashinath in various departments apart from assisting in writing songs, dialogues, and screenplay for his movies. He co-directed a film with Kashinath. He started as a director with a typical Kashinath style comedy called Tharle Nan Maga in 1992. The film introduced