Yogaraj Bhat was born on 8th October, 1973 in Mandarthi, in coastal district Udupi of Karnataka. He is the 7th child of Ramachandra and Jayalakshmi Bhat. Ramachandra lost his life in a boat mishap.
Yogaraj is a famous director in Sandalwood industry. He has also tasted success as a lyricist, producer and screenwriter. He is mostly known for his 2006 hit Mungaru Male, which was written by Bhat along with Preetam Gubbi. He directed the film and wrote lyrics with others. Mungaru Male recorded the highest box office collections in Sandalwood history. His other achievements include introducing talented technicians to the industry like
Pawan Kumar
of Lucia,
Pawan Wadeyar
and many others.
His lyricist journey started with Mungaru Maleye from his film Mungaru Male and there was no looking back. He has written lyrics for more than 100 super hit songs for the films such as Gaalipata, Jackie, Junglee, Hudugaru, Paramathma, Pancharangi, Chingari, Super, Anna Bond,
Crazy Loka
, Shiva, Lifeu Ishtene, Johny Mera Naam, Victory and many more. He is so versatile that he can write a song like Mungaru Maleye and a fast one like Hale Paathre, showing his range of lyrical talent.
Bhat was inspired by classics like Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather, Akira Kurosawa's Ran and came to Bangalore at 22, to become a cameraman. As a newcomer, he served as an assistant to
Girish Kasaravalli
,
Sunil Kumar Desai
and many others. He was more thrilled about watching film making at close quarters than working with big names.
Bhat directed a TV serial, before making his first film. But it took him 8 years, before a producer could back him independently. His first movie was Mani and that showed memorable performances by
Rangayana Raghu
and veteran actress Umashree, both won State awards for their roles in the movie. Then he directed Ranga SSLC (2004) starring Sudeep and Ramya in the leading roles, however it did not do very well.
His next film after a long break
Mungaaru Male
became the biggest hit in South India, creating a record and followed by another hit, Gaalipata. He also acted in the film Dyavre for one of his assistants, which started his acting career.