Prashanth Neel, born Prashanth Neelakantapuram on 1980-06-04 in Bangalore, Karnataka, India, is a celebrated Indian film director and screenwriter. Fondly called Neel, he works primarily in Kannada and Telugu cinema. He made his directorial debut with Ugramm (2014), which earned him the SIIMA Award for Best Debutant Director. His breakthrough came with the KGF franchise (KGF: Chapter 1 in 2018 and KGF: Chapter 2 in 2022), which became the highest-grossing Kannada films of all time. In 2023, he directed his first Telugu film, Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire, starring Prabhas, further cementing his reputation as a pan-Indian filmmaker.
Neel is admired for his larger-than-life storytelling, stylish action sequences, and ability to create cinematic universes that resonate across India. He is married to Likitha Reddy since 2010 and has two children. His journey reflects persistence, vision, and a knack for redefining Kannada cinema on the national stage.