M. G. Srinivas
M. G. Srinivas | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | Madihalli Gopalakrishna Srinivas 9 July 1984 Hassan, Karnataka, India |
| Spouse |
Shruti. I. L (m. 2019) |
| Alma mater | Seshadripuram College |
| Occupation | Actor, director, screenwriter |
M. G. Srinivas is an Indian actor, film director and screenwriter who works in Kannada cinema. He made his debut as a director in the Kannada film industry with Topiwala (2013), which stars Upendra. He made his debut as a lead actor in Srinivasa Kalyana (2017).
Srinivas first became a radio jockey with his show on 93.5 RED FM, Blade Raja. He made short films, his first being Rules, which was screened at Australia's Bollywood and Beyond Film Festival. His next project, Simply Kailawesome, won him the Platinum Remi Award at the Houston Film Festival. The film is about the life and literary works of the Kannada writer T. P. Kailasam; it caught Upendra's attention and led to his first feature Topiwala, with Upendra in the lead.[2][3][4][5][6][7]
Early life and background
M. G. Srinivas was educated at Presidency School in Bangalore, India. After graduating, he acquiring his BSc degree from Seshadripuram College.
Srinivas began his career as a background dancer before moving into choreography. In 2007, he joined the radio station 93.5 RED FM as a presenter; his morning primetime show Blade Raja became one of the station's most popular programs during that period.
Personal life
M. G. Srinivas married Shruti IL, a journalist, on 30 June 2019 in Mysore.[1]
Film career
Alongside his radio career, Srinivas started making short films, his first being Rules, a slapstick comedy that was officially screened at the Australian film festival Bollywood & Beyond.
Following Rules, Srinivas trained at Abhinaya Taranga to learn acting. He made his second short film Simply Kailawesome, which was based on TP Kailasam's works, and played the lead role in the film. Simply Kailawesome won of the Platinum Award at Houston Film Festival, leading to a formal introduction to Kannada actor Upendra. Srinivas went on to direct Topiwala for Upendra and the film opened to a positive response.
He next directed the romantic comedy Srinivasa Kalyana, which Bharat Jain produced under Mars Films. This movie is Srinivas' commercial debut as a lead actor. Srinivas was first seen as an actor in the Sudeep-directed flick Just Maath Maathalli (2010), in which Srinivas played as Ramya's brother. Srinivasa Kalyana opened to positive reviews across the state. Deccan Chronicle gave the movie a 3/5 and praised the movie for its light-hearted comedy and youthful charm. Times of India rated the film a 3.5/5 and praised the sassy touch to this candy-floss romance.
His next venture was the crime thriller Birbal Trilogy, which consists of Case 1: Finding Vajramuni, Case 2: Avrn bitt, Ivrn bitt, Ivryaru?, and Case 3: Turremane. Birbal Trilogy Case 1: Finding Vajramuni was released in January 2019, and stars Srinivas and Rukmini Vasanth in the lead roles. Sujay Shastry, Suresh Heblikar, and Madhusudhan Rao are also seen in prominent roles.
Srinivas completed the film Old Monk, which stars Srinivas and Aditi Prabhudeva[8][9] in the lead roles. The film's title was inspired by a popular alcoholic beverage brand and means "Hale Sanyasi" in Kannada.[10] Veteran actor Rajesh, made a special cameo appearance in the film. The film was released on 25 February 2022. Critics praised the direction, comedy, writing, dialogue and performance of the film.[11][12] The music-director duo Saurabh and Vaibhav worked a second time with Srinivas after Birbal, and are one of the producers of the movie.[13]
Srinivas' next film was Ghost, which is an Indian, Kannada-language, action-heist thriller film that was written and directed by Srini, and produced by Sandesh Nagraj under Sandesh Productions. The film stars Shiva Rajkumar, Prashant Narayanan, Jayaram, Anupam Kher, and Archana Jois; it was officially announced in 2022 under the Sandesh Nagraj Productions Sandalwood and was released theatrically on 19 October 2023, coinciding with Dussehra. It is the second installment of a cinematic universe following Birbal Trilogy Case 1: Finding Vajramuni in which Srinivas reprises his role as Mahesh Das. The film received positive reviews from critics.
Awards
| Year | Category | Event name | Work | Award Name | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Best Short Film | Houston International Film Festival | Simply Kailawesome | Platinum Remy award | Won |
| 2022 | Rising Star | Chittara Star Awards | Birbal Trilogy | Chittara Rising star award | Won |
| 2023 | Most Entertaining star of the year | Chithra Santhe Awards | Old Monk | Chithra Santhe Most Entertaining star of the year | Won |
| 2024 | Best Director – Critics | Chithra Santhe Awards | Ghost | Chithra Santhe Best Director – Critics | Won |
| Best Director | South Indian International Movie Awards | Best Director | Nominated | ||
| Best Director | International Indian Film Academy Awards | Best Director | Nominated |
Filmography
As an actor
| Year | Film | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Just Maath Maathalli | Tanu's brother | ||
| Chirru | Chirru's friend | Credited as Srini Dilip | ||
| Simply Kailawesome | T. P. Kailasam | Short film | ||
| 2017 | Srinivasa Kalyana | Srinivas aka Lakshmi Kantha Baalu | ||
| 2019 | Birbal Trilogy | Mahesh Das | ||
| Ranganayaki | Krishna Murthy | |||
| 2021 | Old Monk | Appanna / Narada | [14] | |
| 2023 | Ghost | Mahesh Das | [15] | |
| TBA | Birbal Trilogy Case 2: Avrn bitt, Ivrn bitt, Ivryaru? † | Filming |
As a director
| Year | Film | Credit as | Notes | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director | Writer | ||||
| 2010 | Simply Kailawesome | Yes | Yes | Short film | |
| 2013 | Topiwala | Yes | No | ||
| 2017 | Srinivasa Kalyana | Yes | Yes | ||
| 2019 | Birbal Trilogy | Yes | Yes | ||
| 2021 | Old Monk | Yes | Yes | Also co-produced the film | [14] |
| 2023 | Ghost | Yes | Yes | [15] | |
| TBA | Birbal 2 † | Yes | Yes | Filming | |
| TBA | A for Anand † | Yes | No | Announced | |
| TBA | Dalavayi † | Yes | No | Announced | |
| TBA | Ghost 2 † | Yes | No | Announced | |
Business ventures
In 2024, Srini founded AI Samhitha, a company specializing in voice cloning technology.[16]
References
- ^ a b "Director Srinivas married Shruti IL in Mysuru". Times Of India. 30 June 2019. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
- ^ Upendra's Topiwala ready for massive release 13 March 2013
- ^ Srinivasa, Srikanth (14 March 2013). "Topiwala is a political satire". Rediff. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
- ^ Upendra's Topiwala for election time Dec 2012
- ^ [1] Archived 5 October 2023 at the Wayback Machineremi-award.html Simply Kailawesome Wins Remi Award 27 April 2011
- ^ Looking at Simply Kailawesome 6 October 2010
- ^ award for 45 minutes short film 28 April 2011
- ^ "'ಓಲ್ಡ್ ಮಾಂಕ್'ಗಾಗಿ ಶ್ರೀನಿ ಜೊತೆ ಕೈ ಜೋಡಿಸಿದ ಅದಿತಿ ಪ್ರಭುದೇವ!". Vijaya Karnataka (in Kannada). 14 April 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
- ^ "ಓಲ್ಡ್ ಮಾಂಕ್ ಗೆ ಅದಿತಿ ಪ್ರಭುದೇವ ನಾಯಕಿ!". Kannadaprabha (in Kannada). 28 January 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
- ^ "Old Monk will be a stress buster". The Hindu. 24 February 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
- ^ Sunayana Suresh (25 February 2022). "Old Monk Movie Review: A clever and entertaining comedy, after a long time". Times Of India. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
- ^ A Sharadhaa (26 February 2022). "Old Monk review: This comedy-drama will definitely lift our spirits". New Indian Express. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
- ^ "This quirky comedy drama will give you a 'high'". Deccan Herald. 25 February 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
- ^ a b "Srinivas to start shooting for 'Old Monk' from today". Indian Express. 12 February 2020. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
- ^ a b "Kannada director Sreeni on the movie 'Ghost'". The Hindu. 15 November 2022. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
- ^ "Ghost director MG Srinivas launches voice cloning". OTTPlay. Retrieved 10 March 2025.