Prashanth Neelakantapuram (born 4 June 1980), commonly known as Prashanth Neel, is an Indian film director and screenwriter who works in Kannada and Telugu films. He debuted with the action-thriller Ugramm (2014) and later directed the KGF franchise (2018–2022), whose second part became the highest-grossing Kannada film of all-time.
Subsequently, Neel had his maiden Telugu film release with Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire (2023). He is the recipient of a National Film Award and a SIIMA Award.
Contents
Personal life
Prashanth Neelakantapuram was born on 4 June 1980 in a Telugu family settled in Bangalore. His parents are Subhash and Bharathi, and their family hails from Neelakantapuram village, near Madakasira in Andhra Pradesh. He regularly visits his native place, Neelakantapuram, where his father's tomb is located. He shortened his eponymous surname to Neel.
Neel married Likitha in 2010. The couple has a daughter and son. Neel's sister is married to actor Sriimurali, who eventually starred in Neel's directorial debut Ugramm. Neel is a first cousin of former Andhra Pradesh state minister, Raghu Veera Reddy and is also a cousin of Telugu film actor, Aadarsh Balakrishna.
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 Sriimurali 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 Ugramm, 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.
