Sihi Kahi Chandru

Early days: Theatre, Sihi Kahi and film roles

Chandru's association with Shankar Nag and his brother Anant Nag continued as he worked with them on stage and their films. He acted in Shankar Nag's television series, Malgudi Days (1986), while also dubbing for many actors. He then appeared as a lead opposite his future wife Sihi Kahi Geetha on the serial titled Sihi Kahi, which was aired on DD Chandana between 1986 and 1987. It was a sitcom serial in which Chandru and Geetha appeared as a married couple. The serial had a large viewership and was extremely popular with the Kannada audiences. The serial was aired once a week and completed a 52-week run. Chandru and Geetha went on to marry in real life on 9 November 1990. The serial's title subsequently stuck to the couple as prefixes to their names. In an interview with Deccan Herald in 2014, Chandru recalled, "After Sihi Kahi, I did my first film called Dr Vijayanand as a hero, but that never released. I then realised that I was probably not hero material and chose to do comedy as a genre." In the late 1980s, Chandru appeared in a Hindi television series titled Antarala directed by Girish Karnad.

Chandru's first comedic film role came in Avale Nanna Hendthi (1988). During this time, in the mid- to late-1980s, he appeared in bit roles in multiple films, while also continuing to dub in films. In Anjada Gandu (1988), he dubbed for multiple actors. After appearing in minor roles in around 50 films, Chandru received his first major role in H. R. Bhargava's Hrudaya Geethe (1989). Chandru played the antagonist opposite Vishnuvardhan. He went to appear notably in Phani Ramachandra's comedy films such as Ganeshana Maduve (1990), and with Om Sai Prakash, playing prominent comedic supporting roles. In 1998, he was briefly associated with the unreleased film Preethiyallirosukha.

1990s–present: Bombaat Bhojana and other television work

In the 1990s, alongside acting in films, Chandru acted in television soaps. He appeared in Mayamruga. In the 2000s, he produced and directed Papa Pandu, a popular sitcom which saw a run of 1,014 episodes. He also wrote and directed Silli Lalli, another sitcom, which was aired from 2003 to 2007. It completed 1,162 episodes. It was reported in 2014 that Chandru produced three television soaps through his production houses, Final Cut Productions and Master Productions. Chandru added that he also made documentary films, ad films and corporate films. In 2016, he exited Final Cut Productions, which he started in 2000 with his friends. He would go on to direct more sitcoms such as Parvathi Parameshwara (2009–2013) and Panduranga Vittala (2011–2013).

Having learnt cooking during his early years in Bengaluru while pursuing an acting career, Chandru incorporated his culinary experiences into his television work. Starting 1990s, Chandru hosted cookery shows such as Nalapaka and Rasapaka. Nalapaka was one of India's first cookery shows, and was aired in 1992 on DD Chandana. However, a dearth of sponsors meant the show had to be taken off air after eight episodes. Chandru then hosted the widely popular show Bombaat Bhojana, which completed more than 750 episodes by 2012. The format of the show involved Chandru visiting selected restaurants to showcase their signature dishes while also presenting his own recipes and cooking techniques. Celebrity guests were also hosted on some episodes. The show was noted for combining cooking demonstrations with slapstick humour and conversational storytelling. The first season of the show ended after completing around 800 episodes. Chandru stated that he took a break from cookery shows after "people associated me only with food. It led to an identity crisis. Nobody talked about my films any more. That's when I decided to stop doing it. The second season began in 2021. In 2023, during its third season, it completed 1,000 episodes. By the end of the fifth season, more than 1,500 episodes were aired. The sixth season premiered in October 2025.

In 2017, Chandru contested in the fifth season of the reality television show Bigg Boss Kannada. In 2018, he produced and directed the second season of Papa Pandu, which completed a run of 300 episodes in 2019. The storyline of the first season was retained and continued. In the same year, he launched and directed the second season of Silli Lalli. However, it was taken off air in 2020 due to low ratings. In 2021, Chandru appeared as judge on Cookku with Kirikku, a cooking reality show, with chef Venkatesh Bhat.

Other work

Chandru is also a noted theatre personality, known for his comedy play Neenaanaadre naaneenena? (If you are me, then am I you?), an adaptation of William Shakespeare's play The Comedy of Errors, incidentally also adapted in the film a production in Hindi (Angoor). Throughout his career, Chandru acted in numerous plays, both in Kannada, such as Nimitha, Gathi and Sankramana, and in English. He recalled, "Theatre has been my first love and I never leave an opportunity to do the same. I do different roles away for my regular on-screen image."

In 2006, Chandru first hosted a breakfast show on radio for 92.7 Big FM in Bangalore. In 2013, for the same network, his wife Geetha and he hosted a show titled Retro Talkies.

Films

• All films are in Kannada, unless otherwise noted.

Television

Music videos