In 1999, Upendra made a self-titled film, "Upendra". Upendra acted in this film as the unnamed protagonist (or antagonist) "Naanu" (I or Myself). The film starred three heroines: Damini, Prema, and Bollywood actress Raveena Tandon. "Naanu" was an arrogant character and was very demeaning towards women, bordering on misogyny; which led to a lot of criticism on the film. However, the film broke many box office records and went on to be a much bigger hit than "A" in both Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The film had a 200-day run in Karnataka, and its Telugu version had a 100-day run in Andhra Pradesh. Upendra was now not only a remarkably successful director, but also a big star with a large fan base in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Since then, Upendra gave up directing and concentrated more on his acting career.