Sudeepa Singh

Sudeep Sanjeev (born 2 September 1971), also known as Kichcha Sudeepa, is an Indian actor, director, producer, screenwriter, singer and television presenter, who primarily works in Kannada cinema. He has also worked in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil films. He is one of the highest paid actors of Kannada films and also featured in Forbes India's Celebrity 100 list since 2013. He has received several awards including four Filmfare awards, two Karnataka State Film Awards and one Nandi Award.

Sudeepa began his acting career with a supporting role in '' Thayavva'' (1997) and '' Prathyartha'' (1999), followed by his breakthrough with a leading role in Sunil Kumar Desai's romance '' Sparsha'' (2000). He established himself in the critically acclaimed role in ''Huchcha'' (2001). He starred further in several commercially successful films including '' Nandhi'' (2002), '' Kiccha'' (2003), ''Swathi Muthu'' (2003), '' My Autograph'' (2006), '' No 73, Shanthi Nivasa'' (2007), ''Mussanjemaatu'' (2008), ''Veera madakari'' (2009), '' Just Maath Maathalli'' (2010), ''Vishnuvardhana'' (2011), ''Kempe Gowda'' (2011), ''Maanikya'' (2014), ''Ranna'' (2015), ''Kotigobba 2'' (2016), '' Hebbuli'' (2017), '' The Villain'' (2018), ''Pailwaan'' (2019), Telugu-Hindi bilingual ''Rakta Charitra'', the Telugu-Tamil bilingual ''Eega'' (2012) and the Hindi films ''Makkhi'' (the Hindi dubbing of ''Eega'') and ''Dabangg 3'' (2019).

He won the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Kannada for three consecutive years for his films ''Huchcha'', ''Nandhi'' and ''Swathi Muthu''. Since 2013, he has been hosting the television reality show ''Bigg Boss Kannada''. His performance in the 2001 film, ''Huchcha'', earned him the nickname Kichcha Sudeepa by his fans.

Early life

Sudeepa was born on 2 September 1971 to Sanjeev Manjappa and Saroja in Shimoga in Shimoga district of present-day Karnataka as Sudeep. The family had migrated to Shimoga from Narasimharajapura, Chikmagalur district. He obtained a bachelor's degree in Industrial and production engineering from Dayananda Sagar College of Engineering, Bangalore. He represented the college in under-17 cricket. He attended the Roshan Taneja School of Acting in Mumbai, where he overcame his 'shyness'.

Career

Actor

Sudeep began his film career in '' Thayavva'' (1997). He then played a supporting role in '' Prathyartha'', directed by Sunil Kumar Desai, and a lead role in the same director's '' Sparsha''. In 2001, a role in ''Huchcha'' gave him his first big following. In 2008 he made his Bollywood debut in ''Phoonk''. He has also starred in Ram Gopal Varma's movies '' Rann'', ''Phoonk 2'' and ''Rakta Charitra''.

Starting from '' Veera Parampare'' (2010), he changed his stage name from Sudeep to Sudeepa per S. Narayan's advice and after the film's success he decided to keep the name. His subsequent films, ''Kempe Gowda'' and ''Vishnuvardhana'' (2011), also were successes.

Sudeepa made his debut in Telugu cinema in 2012, with S. S. Rajamouli's ''Eega'', a fantasy film in which he portrayed an industrialist who, on falling for an NGO worker (played by Samantha Ruth Prabhu), kills her alleged lover, who begins to haunt him in the form of a housefly. The film and Sudeepa's performance were highly acclaimed.

In 2013, '' Bachchan'' and '' Varadanayaka'' were released. His next film was a drama titled ''Maanikya'' that he also directed, a remake of the Telugu film, '' Mirchi'' (2013) which was a huge hit. In 2015 he starred in ''Ranna'', a remake of the Telugu film, ''Attarintiki Daredi'', which again was a blockbuster and played a cameo role as a Persian arms trader in '' Baahubali: The Beginning'', directed by S. S. Rajamouli—the year's highest-grossing film.

He frequently sings in his screen roles, including '' Vaalee'' (2001), '' Chandu'' (2002), ''Ranga SSLC'' (2004), '' Nalla'' (2004), '' #73, Shaanthi Nivaasa'' (2007), ''Veera madakari'' (2009), ''Kempe Gowda'' (2011), '' Bachchan'' (2013) and also for others movies such as ''Mandya to Mumbai'' (2014), ''Ring Road Shubha'' (2014) and ''Raate'' (2015).

In 2019, Sudeepa was seen in the Hindi film ''Dabangg 3'' where he played the archenemy of Salman Khan's Chulbul Pandey. He also plays Avuku Raju in ''Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy.''
Sudeepa's next ''Vikrant Rona'', directed by Anup Bhandari, featured Nirup Bhandari and Neetha Ashok. He played a supporting role '' Kabzaa'' starring Upendra.

Sudeepa completed his 26 years in film industry.

Director and producer

Sudeepa's directorial debut was '' My Autograph'' in 2006 which went on to complete 175 days and was a commercial success. From then he has directed many Kannada films like '' No 73, Shanthi Nivasa'', '' Ee Shathamaanada Veera Madakari'', '' Just Maath Maathalli'', ''Kempe Gowda'' and ''Maanikya''. He also wrote the script for '' Just Maath Maathalli''.

He owns a film production company named Kiccha Creations, which is credited with ''My Autograph'' (2006), ''No 73, Shantinivasa'' (2007), ''Jigarthanda'' (2016), ''Maanikya'' (2013), ''Ambi Ning Vayassayto'' (2019).

Television

Sudeepa made his TV debut in the serial ''Premada Kadambari'', named after a line in the song ''Bandhana'' on Udaya TV. He was roped in to play the main host of the reality show ''Pyate Hudgeer-Halli Lifu'', aired on Suvarna, which was an immediate success. Endemol Shine Group's flagship show '' Big Brother'' was adapted to Kannada as ''Bigg Boss Kannada'' and Sudeepa was the chosen to play the host for the first season which was aired on ETV Kannada. He continued to host the second season on Asianet Suvarna. Colors Kannada (formerly ETV Kannada) regained the rights to the show in 2015 with Sudeepa signing a five-season deal to host the show which was estimated to be around which was a landmark deal in Kannada television industry.

Personal life

Sudeepa is the captain of Karnataka Bulldozers cricket team that competes in the Celebrity Cricket League.

Sudeepa met Priya Radhakrishna, Malayali, in Bangalore, in 2000 and they married in 2001. Priya worked in an airline company and then in a bank, prior to their marriage. Their only child, Saanvi, was born in 2004. In 2013, Sudeepa launched Stage 360°, an events management company, that his wife took an active part In. The couple split in September 2015, later they reconciled.

In the media

Sudeepa has been described by the critics as one of the most talented actors in Kannada cinema. He was listed first in the ''Times 25 Most Desirable Men in Bangalore'' in 2012. In 2012, he was given a title, "Abhinaya Chakravarthy", by a Kannada organisation, Karnataka Rakshana Vedike.

In 2012, Sudeepa was signed as the Brand Ambassador of Joyalukkas, a Jewellery Retail Chain. In 2013, he was appointed as the Brand Ambassador for Bangalore Traffic Police Department and Income Tax Department. In 2014, he was appointed as the Brand Ambassador for Intex Technologies (India) Mobiles & Paragon Footwear.

In 2013, on World AIDS Day, Sudeepa teamed up with Vijay Raghavendra and other actors to record voiceovers for the TeachAids interactive software, developed at Stanford University.

In 2015, Sudeepa appeared in advertisements in the Kannada language for OLX.in, along with the veteran Kannada actor, Anant Nag. He had previously appeared in ads with Sadhu Kokila for the same company.

In 2021, Sudeepa along with other celebrities and billionaires participated in the "Checkmate Covid" charity event for the COVID-19 Pandemic where they played in a chess simultaneous exhibition hosted by former World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand. In 2022, he was appointed brand ambassador of Karnataka Animal Husbandry Department's cow adoption programme. On 13 June 2021, Sudeep along with Sajid Nadiadwala and Nikhil Kamath, Chief Information Officer and co-founder of Zerodha, cheated during the online charity event against five-time world chess champion Vishwanathan Anand. Chess.com suspended their accounts for violating fair play.

Humanitarian work

Sudeepa is involved in humanitarian works through his organisation Kiccha Sudeepa Charitable Society. The trust helps underprivileged school children, providing them with uniforms as well as scholarships. The society helped senior Kannada film artists, technicians and others by providing them with necessary help during Covid pandemic who were unable to get work.

Political affiliations

On 6 April 2023, at a press conference held in Ashok Hotel, Bangalore, Sudeepa openly declared his support for the then incumbent Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and the BJP in the 2023 Karnataka assembly elections. He stated that he would be campaigning for BJP in all the constituencies that he is told by the Chief Minister.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

Discography

As playback singer

Notes

References

External links

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1971 births
Living people
Indian male film actors
Indian male television actors
Male actors in Hindi cinema
Male actors in Kannada cinema
Male actors in Tamil cinema
Male actors in Telugu cinema
Kannada film directors
Film directors from Bengaluru
Filmfare Awards South winners
Kannada playback singers
People from Shimoga district
Indian game show hosts
Bigg Boss Kannada
Bigg Boss
Indian male playback singers
Singers from Bengaluru
Male actors from Bengaluru
Male actors in Kannada television
21st-century Indian male actors