Sri Murali Gowda (born 17 December 1981),[1] known as Sriimurali and sometimes Murali,[2] 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 that won him the Karnataka State Film Award for Best Actor in 2004.[3][4] His performance in the 2014 Kannada film Ugramm received unanimous praise and emerged as a major success.[5]
Sriimurali then appeared in films such as Yashwanth, Siddhu, Shambu and Preethigaagi, which did not perform well at the box office. In 2008, he appeared in Minchina Ota, produced by his father, also starring brother Vijay Raghavendra. He also takes care of the production responsibilities of his family banner Sowbhagya Pictures, under which several films produced by his father were made such as Sevanthi Sevanthi and Ganesha Matthe Banda.[15]
After hits Chandra Chakori, and Kanti, Sri Murali could not keep up the expectations of the audiences and all of his consecutive films were flops.[16][17]
Prashanth Neel (Murali's brother in law) came up with an action drama story in 2008, exclusively for taking off Sri Murali's career again on a high note. The movie was initially named Nandhe and later changed to Ugramm. It took nearly 4–5 years for completion of the project, which marked Neel's directorial debut. The film was released in 2014. In the film, Sri Murali played the role of Agastya, a mechanic, who protects Nithya (played by Haripriya) from being caught alive by goons, and takes on the mafia. The film emerged as a critical and commercial success with his performance receiving acclaim.[2] A. Sharadhaa of The Indian Express wrote: "This is definitely a 'comeback' film for Murali, a carefully thought-out project for him by the director. Murali is smarter than he looks and tougher than people expected him to be."[18] He received his first nominations for Best Actor in Filmfare Awards South and SIIMA Awards. Following the massive success of the film, it was reported that he was flooded with offers for film totaling to 67, all of which he rejected.[19]
Filmography
Note: He was credited as Murali from 2003 to 2007. He was credited as Sriimurali from 2008 onwards.
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