Pawan Kumar is an Indian director, screenwriter, actor and producer, who works mainly in the Kannada film industry. He is known for the films Manasaare (2009), Pancharangi (2010), Lucia (2013), and Dhoomam (2023).
Wiki/Biography
Pawan Kumar was born on Friday, 29 October 1982 (age 41 years; in 2023) in Anantapur, Pamidi, Andhra Pradesh, India. His zodiac sign is Scorpio.
Pawan Kumar’s baby picture
He started his school education at Indian Preparatory School, Srirampuram, and continued at Vasavi Educational Trust, JP Nagar, Bengaluru. He completed his twelfth grade at The National College Jayanagar, Bengaluru. He was interested in theater and dropped out of an engineering course at PES University (PESU), formerly known as PESIT, in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
Physical appearance
Height (approx): 5′ 9″
Weight (approx): 70 kg
Hair Color: Salt and Pepper
Eye Color: Black
Pawan Kumar with co-stars Ganesh and Diganth
Family
Pawan belongs to a Hindu family from Maharashtra residing in Bengaluru.
Parents & Siblings
There is not much information about his parents and siblings.
Pawan Kumar’s father
Wife & Children
Pawan met Sowmya Jaganmurthy during the filming of Pancharangi (2010) and married on 6 June 2010.
Pawan Kumar on his wedding day
Sowmya is a classical dancer, film producer and actress. They have a daughter named Laasya Pasowna (Lucy).
Pawan Kumar with his wife and daughter
Career
Theater
Pawan Kumar worked in theater for several years after completing his education and then started a theater company called Actor Productions, which offered innovative ways of theater production. He wrote, directed and performed in the show, The Woman in Me (2017).
The Woman in Me show poster
He returned to the theater in 2023 with a show he wrote during the early years of his career, called The Final Rehearsal (2023). He directs and performs solo.
Pawan Kumar rehearsing for the show The Final Rehearsal
Movie
Director & Screenwriter
Pawan Kumar joined the directorial team of Yogaraj Bhat and wrote the stories for the Kannada films Manasaare (2009) and Pancharangi (2010). Both films were commercial successes. His directorial debut was the Kannada film Lifeu Ishtene (2011) for which he also wrote the story and screenplay.
Lifeu Ishtene movie poster
He directed and wrote Lucia (2013) which was a turning point in his career. It was the first crowd-funded film in the Kannada film industry.
His next Kannada film U-Turn (2016) was a supernatural thriller that received widespread critical acclaim. The film was first remade in Malayalam as Careful (2017) directed by VK Prakash. It was remade in Tamil and Telugu, under the name U-Turn (2018) itself, directed by Pawan Kumar.
Pawan Kumar with the cast of U-Turn
He also directed the Netflix Hindi web series Leila (2019) and the Telugu web series Kudi Yedamaithe (2021).
Pawan Kumar on the sets of Kudi Yedamaithe
Pawan Kumar’s first film in Malayalam was Dhoomam (2023), an action thriller featuring Fahadh Faasil and Aparna Balamurali.
Actor
He first acted in the Kannada film Mr. Garagasa (2008) in a small role. Some of the roles he essayed are, Dollar in the Kannada film Manasaare (2009), Lakshman Rao (Lucky) in the Kannada film Pancharangi (2010), Techie Phaneesh in the Kannada film Gultoo (2018), Bhushan in the Kannada film Gaalipata 2 (2022), and the appearance cameo in Kannada film Hostel Hudugaru Bekagiddare (2023).
Gaalipata 2 movie poster
Publisher
He is the producer for Kannada films Lucia, U-Turn, and Ondu Motteya Kathe. He is the co-producer for the Kannada film Ikkat and the Telugu web series Kudi Yedamaithe.
Ondu Motteya Kathe poster
Entrepreneur
Pawan is one of the directors of Pawan Kumar Studios Private Ltd, a film company.
Pawan Kumar Studios logo
Award
- In 2011, Pawan Kumar won the Best Director Award at the Bangalore Times Film Awards for the film Lifeu Ishtene.
- In 2012, he won the British Council’s Young Creative Entrepreneur (YCE) Award in the Digital for Creative Industries category.
Pawan Kumar with the British Council Young Creative Entrepreneur Award
- In 2013, he won the Best Director Award – Kannada at the 61st Filmfare Awards – South and the Audience Choice Award at the London Indian Film Festival for the film Lucia.
- He won the Best Direction Award and Best Story Award for the film U-Turn at the 2nd International Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFA) for 2016, at an event organized in 2017.
Pawan Kumar with the IIFA Award
- He received the Best Film Award for Onda Motteya Kathe at the 65th Filmfare Awards South.
Facts/Trivia
- Pawan has Alopecia, an autoimmune disorder, which has caused him to lose patches of hair.
- As of 2024, Pawan has 1 lakh subscribers on his YouTube channel and over 68k followers on his Instagram account.
- He is a TEDx speaker and has given speeches on the Art of Stopping based on his life experiences and choices. He then gave another TEDx speech on the crowdfunding filmmaking model, titled Movie for the People, by the People, and of the People.
Pawan Kumar at TEDx event
- Pawan and his wife have a farm and art hub called The Palowna’s.
Categories: Biography
Source: SCHOOL TRANG DAI
