Sandeep Reddy Vanga, Navdeep praise Upendra, liken him to Ranbir Kapoor’s character in Animal on The Rana Daggubati Show

Upendra has never allowed anyone, including himself, to confine him to categories and genres. The diversity in his directorial endeavours underscores this. While his debut directorial Tharle Nan Maga was a comedy-drama, his sophomore project Shhh! was a horror thriller and his subsequent films Om and Operation Antha were a crime actioner and a political thriller, respectively. His penchant for innovation has reached such heights that his latest directorial, UI, is a sci-fi dystopian action film, starring Upendra himself in the lead role. This relentless pursuit of pushing boundaries has earned him widespread admiration, with director Sandeep Reddy Vanga and actor Navdeep recently praising him as a visionary, even comparing him to the character played by Ranbir Kapoor in Animal (2023).

Upendra recently appeared on The Rana Daggubati Show, where host Rana introduced him with a special video featuring Sandeep Reddy Vanga and Navdeep, who celebrated his bold approach to cinema. Comparing Upendra to the Hindi blockbuster Animal’s titular character, Navdeep dubbed him as “the OG real wild animal.” Vanga, meanwhile, heaped praise on him, adding, “He made Om when he was just 22. He was the youngest director in the country at that time. His screenplay felt like a film within a film.”

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During his appearance on the show, Upendra spoke about his humble beginnings, shared his views on love and marriage, and offered insights into his distinct approach to filmmaking. “I lived in a very tiny house. To earn some money, I made paper covers and sold them to fruit vendors. That’s when I started writing. I approached a director as a writer, and he made me his AD. From there, I moved to becoming a co-director, then director, and finally acting in my own films,” he shared during the conversation.

On the topic of love and marriage, Upendra reflected, “Marriage is a great institution. It is so good. I deceived you all by delivering lines like: ‘There is no love. Love is trash.’ Many of you followed it, but very quietly, I got married. I wanted to find out whether there was any truth to what I said. After experiencing it, I am fixed now.”

One of the most memorable moments from the episode was when Upendra recalled adding an unexpected twist to a love scene in his 2002 film Super Star. He shared, “During my trip to Thailand, I saw a tiger and wrote a love scene around it.” Penned by Upendra, who also played the lead role in the movie, Super Star is helmed by Nagathihalli Chandrashekhar.