Prem

22 Oct, 1978 | Maddur, Mandya, Karnataka

Actor/Director/Lyricst

Biography

Kiran Kumar, known by his screen name Prem called as Jogi Prem , is an Indian film director and actor in Kannada cinema. He is also an occasional singer and lyricist. He is also producer and runs his own banner called Preamdreamspictures. He is considered one of the star directors in the Kannada film industry. He started his film career from Hello Yama, doing a small role. Making his debut as a director in the 2003 released Kariya, he directed back-to-back three successful films and is popularly addressed as Hat-trick Director. He made his acting debut in Preethi Yeke Bhoomi Melide in the year 2008. Personal Life Prem was born as Kiran Kumar on 22 October 1976, in Maddur, in the Mandya district of the Indian State of Karnataka, to Rajappa and Bhagyamma. He is married to actress-turned-producer Rakshita and they have a son named Surya. Career Prem started his career as an assistant director in a few Vishnuvardhan movies for Sunil Kumar Desai. Later, Prem became a director in 2003 with Kariya, a gangster romance film starring Darshan in the lead. The film was critically acclaimed and appreciated by the audience. Prem was lauded for his casting of real-life big dons to act in his movie. The soundtrack and cinematography were also widely appreciated. Darshan played a gangster struggling to express his love. The same year, he directed a light-hearted romantic film Excuse Me with Ajay Rao, Sunil Rao and Ramya in lead roles. The film turned out to be a musical hit with many of its songs composed by R. P. Patnaik becoming chart busters. In 2005, Prem came up with his biggest blockbuster film Jogi starring Shivarajkumar, Jennifer Kotwal and Arundhati Nag in the lead roles. The film went on to make recording collections at the box office. The mother-son sentiment theme was widely applauded and was considered as Shivarajkumar's biggest comeback film. Following three back-to-back super-hit films, Prem tried his hands on acting besides directing the film Ee Preethi Yeke Bhoomi Melide in 2008. The film's pre-release promotions were held with much media attention and the expectations from the film were high rising. Bollywood actress Mallika Sherawat made her debut in South Indian films with a special appearance. The film was widely popular for its melodious sound tracks. But the film was a huge flop. Prem next directed the film Raaj the Showman in 2010. The film starred Puneeth Rajkumar and Priyanka Kothari. The film is remembered mostly for its soundtrack by V. Harikrishna and cinematography. The movie was an average grosser at the box office, despite the presence of the heavy-weights Puneeth Rajkumar and V. Harikrishna. Prem, for the first time without himself directing, accepted to play the lead role in the controversial film titled Prem Adda, a remake of the Tamil blockbuster hit Subramaniapuram with music by V.  Harikrishna directed by Mahesh Babu. Film made an average collection at the box office. Under his production house, Premdreams, he produced DK movie in 2014. Also acting in the same movie. Prem's much-awaited multi-starrer movie The Villain starring Shivanna and Kiccha Sudeep went on floors from April 2017.