Prashanth Neelakantapuram (born 4 June 1980) is an Indian film director and screenwriter who primarily works in the

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

film industry. He made his debut with the 2014 Kannada film, ''

Ugramm ''Ugramm'' is a 2014 Indian Kannada-language action thriller film directed by Prashanth Neel and produced under the banner Inkfinite Pictures with his brother Pradeep Neel as the executive producer. It stars Srimurali and Haripriya as the lea ...

'' and later directed the two-part film series: '' K.G.F: Chapter 1'' (2018), and '' K.G.F: Chapter 2'' (2022), the latter being the highest-grossing Kannada film.

Personal life

Prashanth Neelakantapuram was born on 4 June 1980 in a

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

family in

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

. Born to Subhash and Bharathi, their family hails from Neelakantapuram village, near

Madakasira Madakasira is a town with a population 19,432 in 2001 and also a mandal in Sri Satya Sai district in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India. It is located near the state border with Karnataka. The Madakasira Hill Fort in the town is a centrall ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

, and settled in

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

. Neel married Likhitha in 2010. The couple has a daughter and son. Neel's sister is married to Kannada actor Sriimurali, who eventually starred in Neel's directorial debut ''

''. Neel is also a cousin of Telugu film actor,

Aadarsh Balakrishna Aadarsh Balakrishna is an Indian actor primarily known for his negative roles in Telugu films. He is also the runner up of Telugu reality TV show '' Bigg Boss 1''.Chowdhary, Y. Sunita (2010)Poised to Win, ''The Hindu'', 3 April 2010. Retrieved ...

, and is also related to former

state minister,

Raghu Veera Reddy Neelakantapuram Raghuveera Reddy Yadav (born 12 February 1957) is an Indian politician belonging to the Indian National Congress. He was appointed President, Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee in March, 2014. Early life Raghuveera Reddy was born ...

Career

In an interview with a Kannada weekly magazine, Neel said he took to filmmaking initially for the need of money, following which he completed a course in the same, eventually developing interest in it. After having completed the course, he decided to cast his brother-in-law and actor

Srimurali Sriimurali (born 17 December 1981), also known simply as Murali, is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Kannada cinema. After making his debut in 2003 in ''Chandra Chakori'', he appeared in '' Kanti'' as the eponymous lead, a performance ...

in'' Aa Hudugi Neene'', a screenplay that he had written during the time. After the latter expressed his concerns due to his inexperience, Neel changed his mind and began observing Srimurali's mannerisms over a period of time, and came up with the project ''

'', an action film. The film turned out to be a massive commercial success and emerged as one of the highest-grossing Kannada films of 2014. Reports emerged in late 2014 and early 2015 of Neel having been signed to direct three films. The first is a sequel to ''Ugramm'', entitled ''Ugramm Veeram'', which would feature Srimurali reprise his role from ''Ugramm''. His next film ''

KGF KGF or ''kgf'' may refer to: *Keratinocyte growth factor *King George's Fields, UK, recreation grounds *Kolar Gold Fields *The IATA code for Sary-Arka Airport, Karaganda, Kazakhstan * ''K.G.F'' (film series), Indian Kannada-language film series * ...

'' which stands for

Kolar Gold Fields Kolar Gold Fields (K.G.F.) is a mining region in K.G.F. taluk (township), Kolar district, Karnataka, India. It is headquartered in Robertsonpet, where employees of Bharat Gold Mines Limited (BGML) and BEML Limited (formerly Bharat Earth Mov ...

presented Yash in the role of Rocky, an orphan who becomes a don. The sequel '' KGF: Chapter 2'', was scheduled for a theatrical release on 16 July 2021, but was delayed due to the second wave of the COVID pandemic in India. On 2 December 2020,

Hombale Films Hombale Films (pronunciation: Hom-Baa-Lay) is an Indian film production company mainly known for the ''K.G.F'' franchise and blockbuster film Kantara. It was founded by Vijay Kiragandur. History Hombale Films was founded by Vijay Kiragan ...

announced the film ''

Salaar ''Salaar'' is an upcoming Indian Telugu-language action thriller film written and directed by Prashanth Neel, and produced by Vijay Kiragandur under Hombale Films. It stars Prabhas in a dual role and as the titular charecter, along with Prithv ...

'' with

Prabhas Uppalapati Venkata Suryanarayana Prabhas Raju (born 23 October 1979), known mononymously as Prabhas (), is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Telugu cinema. One of the highest-paid actors in Indian cinema, Prabhas has featured in ''Fo ...

. The film's shoot began on 29 January 2021. In May 2021,

Mythri Movie Makers Mythri Movie Makers Pvt. Ltd is an Indian film production company established by Naveen Yerneni, Y. Ravi Shankar, and Mohan Cherukuri, in 2015. It mainly produces and distributes Telugu films. Notable films produced by the company include '' ...

and N.T.R. Arts have announced a film in collaboration with Neel and Jr. NTR, for his 31st film. The film is expected to begin its production in April 2023.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Neel, Prashanth 1980 births Living people Telugu people Telugu film directors Telugu screenwriters Kannada film directors Film directors from Bangalore Screenwriters from Bangalore 21st-century Indian film directors South Indian International Movie Awards winners