Darshan Thugudipa (born 16 February 1977) is a popular Indian Kannada actor and director. He is known to the public as Darshan Thugudipa, but his real name is Hemanth Kumar. Darshan, who started his acting career in the 90s, has acted in over 50 films in his more than 20-year-long acting career. He has been nicknamed “Challenging Star” and “The Boss” by his fans and followers for his acting. He won the Karnataka State Film Award for Best Actor for his role as the warrior Sangoli Rayanna in the 90s. Apart from acting, he founded a production company called “Thugudipa Productions” in 2006.
| Attribute | Details |
| Born | 16 February 1977 |
| Real Name | Hemanth Kumar |
| Year Activity | 1997 – Present |
| Spouse | Vijayalakshmi (2003) |
| Child | 1 (Vinesh) |
| Father | Thoogudeepa Srinivas |
Personal Life
Hemant Kumar, also known as Durshan, was born on 16 February 1977 in Ponnampet, Kodagu district, Karnataka, India. He was named Darshan at birth. He is one of two brothers and one sister. His sister’s name is Divya and his younger brother is Dinkar Thugudeepa. His brother is a film producer and the director of Darshan’s production company Thugudeepa Productions. Darshan completed his primary and secondary education in Mysuru. In 1995, he went against his father’s wishes and studied acting at a theatre training institute called Ninasam. Darshan runs a small zoo in the eastern part of Mysuru near Malavalli, and his hobbies include Cars and Bikes.
Darshan married his relative Vijayalakshmi in a temple in 2003. Vijayalakshmi was studying chemical engineering at the time of marriage. The couple has a son named Vinesh. In 2011, his wife filed a domestic violence complaint against Darshan. Their relationship had already deteriorated and they later separated. Around 2015, he was rumoured to be in a relationship with actress Pavithra Gowda. He entered politics in 2023, campaigning for the Janata Party in 2023 and the National Congress in 2024.
Career
As a Junior Actor
After graduating from Ninasam, Darshan worked as a projectionist and then became an assistant cameraman to cinematographer B. C. Gowrishankar. His first acting role came in a television series by S. Narayan.[18] Narayan then offered him a supporting role in the 1997 film Mahabharata. Darshan later appeared in small roles in films such as ‘Debra Maga’, ‘Ellara Maane Dosenu’, ‘Bhutayan Makkalu’ in 2000 and ‘Mr. Harishchandra’ in 2001. During this period, he also did small roles as a dubbing artist for some cartoons.
Main Actor
2002 – 2010
Darshan’s acting career got a big breakthrough in 2002 with the film ‘Majestic’. In which he got the opportunity to act in a lead role for the first time. The next success came in 2003 with the film ‘Gangster’. In 2004, he acted in the films ‘Dharma’, ‘Darshan’, ‘Bhagavan’, ‘Kaalshipalya’ and ‘Sardara’. He reached an important milestone in his career by acting in the film ‘Kaalshipalya’. In 2005, he worked in the films ‘Aaya’, ‘Shastri’ and ‘Swami’. In 2006, he acted in the action film ‘Thangigagit’, a remake of the Tamil film ‘Thirupachi’, and in 2007, he acted in the film ‘Bhupathi’. After that, he worked in films like ‘Snehana Prithina’ and ‘Anathru’. In 2008, he worked in the films ‘Indra’, ‘Arjun’ and ‘Dakatir thriller Navagraha’ and in 2009, he worked in the films ‘Jodha’ and ‘Abhay’. The movie ‘Porky’ starring him was released in 2010.
2011 – Present
In 2011, he acted in ‘Boss’ and ‘Prince’ which were flops but he made a comeback in the same year with the action film ‘Sarathi’. Then in 2012, he starred in the film ‘Chingari’. He won his first Karnataka State Film Award and the Filmfare Award for Best Actor for his performance in the historical film ‘Krantiveer Sangoli Rainate‘. In 2013, he had two films ‘Bulbul’ and ‘Vrindavan’ released. In 2014, he gave the audience a commercial film named ‘Ambarisha’. Although he did not work in any film in 2015, he worked in the film “Virat” in 2016. The film “Chakraborty”, based on the true story of the Bangalore underworld, was released in 2017. Then, after a gap of 2 years, in 2019, he released his 50th film of his career, “Jazaman”, and in the same year, his two more films, “Kurukshetra” and “Odeya”, were released. He worked in the film “Kranti”, which was released in theaters on 26 January 2023, coinciding with the Republic Day holiday of India.
Production and distribution
After achieving success in acting, in 2006, he focused on charity work and founded the production company ‘Thugudeepa Productions’. His first film produced was ‘Jothe Jotheali’. He and his family founded a distribution company called ‘Thugudeepa Distributors’ in 2013. His first distributed film was ‘Bulbul’ which was released in 2013. His other projects are Vrindavan (2013), ‘Ograne’ (2014), ‘Jai Lalita’ (2014), ‘Ugram’ and ‘Paramshiv’ (2014).
Charitism & Social Work
As 9 zoos were facing financial difficulties due to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Darshan made an open appeal to the public for donations and adaptation of animals. As a result, the Zoo Authority of Karnataka (ZAK) collected Rs 1 crore which greatly helped them overcome their financial crisis. Darshan adopted an elephant and a tiger from his own Mysore Zoo. In December 2023, he donated a granite slab for the construction of a memorial for Arjun, who died in a rescue operation.
Illegal Activitis
In 2011, his wife filed a domestic violence complaint against him with the police. As a result, he was arrested. In 2016, his wife filed a complaint against him with the Bengaluru police for “offensive behaviour”.
In 2021, Darshan was charged with physically assaulting a waiter at a hotel in Mysuru. In 2022, he was charged with threatening a producer. In 2023, an FIR was filed against Darshan under Section 289 of the Indian Penal Code for setting his dog on fire for attacking a neighbour. The woman was later paid financial compensation.
Forest department personnel raided actor Darshan’s farmhouse near T. Narsipur in 2023 and seized four bar-headed geese. In June 2024, Darshan was arrested in the Renukaswamy murder case. Later, on 13 December 2024, the High Court granted him regular bail.
Awards
- Suvarna Film Awards In 2012 & 2013
- Bangalore Times Film Awards In 2012
- Filmfare Best Actor Award & Karnataka State Film Award for Best Actor In 2013
- 9th SIIMA Award In 2021
- Chittara Star Awards In 2024
