[7] Upendra is known for his works in films such as Preethse (2000), Super Star (2002), Kutumba (2002), Gokarna (2002), Hollywood (2002), Raktha Kanneeru (2003), Gowramma (2005), Aishwarya (2006), Anatharu (2007), Budhivanta (2008), Kalpana (2012), Godfather (2012), S/O Satyamurthy (2015), Uppi 2 (2015), and I Love You (2019).`UI The movie 2024"!

[9] Upendra started as a director with a typical Kashinath style comedy called Tharle Nan Maga in 1992.

[11] Upendra's next film was a crime drama titled Om, (1995), which he wrote after being inspired by a real incident in the 1980s.

The film's unique story-telling in the form of multiple flashback sequences supporting the plotline won critical praise and was also a major commercial success.

Naanu was an arrogant character and was very demeaning towards women, bordering on misogyny; which led to a lot of criticism on the film.

[13] However, the film broke many box office records and went on to be a much bigger hit than A in both Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

[16] Upendra was now not only a remarkably successful director, but also a big star with a large fan base in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

Super was a blockbuster,[13] breaking many box office records upon release and had a 175-day theatrical run, becoming one of the highest-grossing and critically acclaimed Kannada films of 2010.

[25] As it was a sequel to Upendra and his comeback as a director after 5 years, expectations and the resulting hype was high before it released.

[29] Upon release, the film set records for the highest grossing opening day for a Kannada movie.

[30][31] Although the film got mixed responses because of its confusing storyline and screenplay, it was commercially successful and profitable with a 50-day theatrical run.

(1993), Upendra made another cameo appearance, like a mad man in the attire of a police officer barging into a film set.

In his 1995 directorial Operation Antha, he appears as a man urinating on a roadside wall and explains of India's ways to a complaining Mandakini (played by Sangeetha).

[41] In 2002, Upendra acted in less-received films such as H2O, Super Star, Hollywood, Nagarahavu and Naanu Naane for not meeting expectations and having average run at the box office.

[13][42] From 2003 to 2005 he starred in 5 back-to-back films that each ran for 100 days such as Kutumba, Raktha Kanneeru, Gokarna, Gowramma, and Auto Shankar; all of which were well received at the box office.

[13] Upendra had a less successful phase from 2006 to 2009, as most of his films during this period went unnoticed at the box office such as Uppi Dada M.B.B.S., Tandege Takka Maga, Parodi, Masti, Toss (Telugu), Lava Kusha, Sathyam (Tamil), Dubai Babu and Rajini.

The film was declared a blockbuster[46] and ran for 100 days;[47] it became the top box office grosser of the year.

Super broke many box office records upon release and completing 175 days of the run, becoming one of the highest-grossing critically acclaimed Kannada films of 2010.

[22] Upendra then starred in films like Shrimathi (2011) opposite his wife Priyanka Trivedi and Bollywood actress Celina Jaitly, and Aarakshaka (2012).

[50] Upendra's films from 2013 to 2015 such as Topiwala (2013), Brahma (2014), Super Ranga (2014) and Shivam (2015) performed poorly in theatres.

[13][52][53] In 2015, Upendra starred alongside Allu Arjun in the Telugu film S/O Satyamurthy that was directed by Trivikram Srinivas.

[56] He also starred along with Sudeep in the remake of Bollywood film OMG titled as Mukunda Murari, which became a box office success and had a 50-day run.

In 2022, he starred in Home Minister and made a comeback to Telugu cinema with Ghani in a brief role portraying Varun Tej's father.

[62] During a radio interview, Upendra expressed his disappointment at being labeled as a "different director" and explained that most of his directorial ventures deal with the things that he had undergone in his real life.

Upendra added that in his self-titled film he explored human nature which "ended with “Aham Brahmaasmi", where I wanted to say rise above I.

"[65] On 14 December 2003, Upendra married actress and former Miss Kolkata Priyanka Trivedi, who first starred opposite him in the Telugu movie Raa and then in H2O.

[67] Upendra has been the brand ambassador of the United Breweries, Lunars Footwear, SK Super TMT, Royal Challengers Bangalore (replaced by Puneeth Rajkumar in IPL 3), Mavalli Tiffin Room (MTR), Bangalore Electricity Supply Company, Emani Navaratna Brand, Karnataka Milk Federation (Nandini), Udayavani News Daily.