His first three films, Chitram (2000), Nuvvu Nenu (2001), and Manasantha Nuvve (2001) were successful at the box office, earning him the title "Hat-trick Hero".

[5][6] The three films, all love stories, earned him a 'lover boy' image in the early 2000s.Today in the social media , he is often referred to as "Evergreen Star".

His performance as a hot-blooded youngster in Nuvvu Nenu won him the Filmfare Best Actor Award (Telugu) in the year 2001.

2002 saw him in Nee Sneham, another blockbuster movie of that year for which he was nominated for Filmfare Best Actor Award (Telugu) for the second time.

[24][25] A reviewer from The Times of India wrote, "From being a chubby lover boy with dimples showing on his cheeks to a man with muscles, Uday Kiran has metamorphosed as an actor.

The investigating Banjara Hills police suspected financial problems to be cause and a case of suspicious death was registered.

[33][34][35] On 6 January 2014, Kiran's body was kept at the Andhra Pradesh Film Chamber of Commerce and several film personalities including Dasari Narayana Rao, D. Ramanaidu, Venkatesh, D Suresh Babu, Srikanth, Shivaji, Tanikella Bharani, Chalapathi Rao, Tammareddy Bharadwaja, (ex) MLA Jaya Sudha, Paruchuri Gopala Krishna, Paruchuri Venkateswara Rao, Shivaji Raja, Anup Rubens, Samadra, Kadambari Kiran, Sunil and Anita were among those who paid their last respects to the actor, before being taken to the cremation grounds.

[36] According to Andhra Pradesh Police, a young fan of Kiran allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree at Komatapalli junction in Bobbili sub-division in Vizianagaram.