One of the most sought-after pan-Indian stars Sudeep took to social media to thank his fans, friends, and family as he completed 26 years as an actor. “Many thanks to each one of you for just about everything. These 26 years have been memorable because of you all. Gratitude and love towards everyone from the film fraternity and media all across. Much love and hugs,” Sudeep tweeted.

Congratulatory messages from fans, friends and family poured in, and Sudeep’s wife Priya took to Twitter and wrote, “We are immensely proud of the love and respect you have earned for yourself across the world. Many of us continue to take inspiration from your hard work, dedication and passion towards your craft (sic).” She also shared a pic from the silver jubilee celebrations that happened at Burj Khalifa last year.

Having spent over 2 decades on the silver screen, Sudeep’s career in cinema began in Thayavva (1997) in which he played a pivotal role, and his first film as a lead was in director Sunil Kumar Desai’s Sparsha in 2000. The 56-film-old actor’s exploits in the other languages, including Hindi, Tamil and Telugu, gave him the much-coveted pan-Indian appeal.

Meanwhile, Sudeep’s upcoming film, Vikrant Rona, directed by Anup Bhandari, which was slated for a February 24 release, has been postponed owing to the pandemic-induced restrictions. The film, backed by Shalini Arrts, features Sudeep as a cop, and also stars Nirup Bhandari, Neetha Ashok, and Jacqueline Fernandes in prominent roles.