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.[9] His performance in the 2001 film, Huchcha, earned him the nickname Kichcha Sudeepa by his fans.
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.[12] 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.[13]
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,[14] 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.[15]
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).[21]
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,[22][23] 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.[24] He continued to host the second season on Asianet Suvarna.[25]Colors Kannada (formerly ETV Kannada) regained the rights to the show in 2015 with Sudeepa signing a five-season deal[26][27] to host the show which was estimated to be around ₹20 crore (equivalent to ₹30croreorUS$3.2million in 2023) which was a landmark deal in Kannada television industry.[citation needed]
Sudeepa met Priya Radhakrishna, Malayali, in Bangalore, in 2000 and they married in 2001.[29] Priya worked in an airline company and then in a bank, prior to their marriage.[30] Their only child, Saanvi, was born in 2004.[31] In 2013, Sudeepa launched Stage 360°, an events management company, that his wife took an active part In.[32] The couple split in September 2015, later they reconciled.
[33][29][34][35]
Sudeepa has been described by the critics as one of the most talented actors in Kannada cinema.[36] He was listed first in the Times 25 Most Desirable Men in Bangalore in 2012.[37] In 2012, he was given a title, "Abhinaya Chakravarthy", by a Kannada organisation, Karnataka Rakshana Vedike.[38]
In 2012, Sudeepa was signed as the Brand Ambassador of Joyalukkas, a Jewellery Retail Chain.[39][40] In 2013, he was appointed as the Brand Ambassador for Bangalore Traffic Police Department and Income Tax Department.[41] In 2014, he was appointed as the Brand Ambassador for Intex Technologies (India) Mobiles & Paragon Footwear.[42]
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.[44]
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 chesssimultaneous exhibition hosted by former World Chess ChampionViswanathan Anand.[45] In 2022, he was appointed brand ambassador of Karnataka Animal Husbandry Department's cow adoption programme.[46] 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.[47]Chess.com suspended their accounts for violating fair play.[48]
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 the COVID-19 pandemic who were unable to get work.[49][50]
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.[51]