Upendra Rao (born 18 September 1968 ) is an Indian actor, film director, screenwriter, lyricist, playback singer, producer and politician, known for his work in Kannada cinema. He has also worked in a few Telugu and Tamil films.

In 2017, Upendra joined the political party Karnataka Pragnyavanta Janata Paksha, before quitting the party in 2018 due to internal differences and formed another party named Uttama Prajaakeeya Party (UPP), which was based on the principles of Prajākīya (citizen-centric administration). He received an Honorary Doctorate from Angkor University in 2015.

He started his film career as a writer and an assistant director with actor and film director Kashinath. His first directorial venture was Tharle Nan Maga (1992). In the mid-1990s, Upendra directed Om (1995) which emerged as a blockbuster at the box office and became a cult classic film. He later made the film in Telugu as Omkaram. This was followed by A, in which he debuted as an actor. The film went to be a major success and catapulted him to new heights of fame. His next film was the psychological thriller Upendra (1999), which became a cult film. After a decade of acting, he returned to directing with Super, which was well-received critically and commercially.

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), I Love You (2019), UI (2024) and Coolie (2025).

Upendra was born to Manjunath Rao and Anusuya in Bengaluru, on 18 September 1968.^{[citation needed]} His father was from Thekkatte, Koteshwara, Kundapur Taluk, Udupi district in Karnataka, formerly Mysore State. He is the second son of his family, his older brother is Sudheendra Rao, who is an army officer. He obtained his Bachelor of Commerce degree from APS College of Commerce, Bangalore. During his time at the college, he participated in plays and often formed troupes with his friends. His association with actor and director Kashinath, a distant relative of his, began during his final year in college. Upendra was born in Pushya nakshatra and Simha lagna.

Upendra first appeared on screen making an appearance in Kashinath's 1989 comedy film, Anantana Avantara. He appeared as Lord Kamadeva in the song "Come On Come On Kaamanna". In Love Maadi Nodu starring Kashinath, he made a cameo appearance as a doctor. In Ajagajantara, directed by Kashinath, he made a cameo appearance. In his directorial debut, Shhh! (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).

Upendra assisted filmmaker Kashinath in various departments apart from assisting in writing songs, dialogues, and screenplay for his films. He co-directed a film with Kashinath. Upendra started as a director with a typical Kashinath style comedy called Tharle Nan Maga in 1992. The film introduced famed comedian Jaggesh. It went on to be a success and has since achieved a cult following. Upendra directed a horror suspense thriller next called Shhh! in 1993. The film featured Kashinath and a young producer and actor, Kumar Govind. The film was a major box office success, and Upendra came out as an independent director.

Upendra's next film was a crime drama titled Om, (1995), which he wrote after being inspired by a real incident in the 1980s. Shiva Rajkumar played a gangster, Sathya, alongside other real-life gangsters who appeared in cameos. Prema played the female lead. 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. This film too went on to attain cult status among Kannada audiences.