Upendra is an Indian actor, filmmaker, producer, screenwriter and politician who worked primarily in Kannada films. Upendra has also worked in a few Telugu films. Upendra was known for his thematic representation of Indian politics and society in his films. In October 2017, He joined the political party Karnataka Pragnyavanta Janata Paksha, before quitting the party in March 2018 due to internal differences and formed another party named Uttama Prajaakeeya Party (UPP), which was based on the principles of Prajakiya. He received an Honorary Doctorate from Angkor University in 2015.
Sampath Kumar, known by his stage name Vishnuvardhan, was an Indian actor who worked predominantly in Kannada cinema besides also having sporadically appeared in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu and Malayalam language films. Vishnuvardhan has a prolific career spanning over four decades, during which he has acted in more than 220 films. A popular cultural icon of Karnataka, and holds the status of a matinée idol amongst the Kannada diaspora. He is popularly called as Sahasa Simha, Dada and The Angry Young Man of Kannada Cinema. Vishnuvardhan's contributions to Kannada cinema have been praised by his contemporaries in the Indian film industry. The Government of Karnataka honoured him with the Rajyothsava Prashasthi in 1990 and the Dr. Rajkumar Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007 for his contributions to Kannada cinema. He was called The Phoenix of Indian Cinema. In 2008, a poll conducted by CNN-IBN listed Vishnuvardhan as the most popular star in the Kannada film industry.
Raghupati Dwarakanath Dixit is an Indian singer-composer, producer, and film score composer who is the frontman for the Raghu Dixit Project, a multilingual folk music band.
Sanghavi is an Indian actress and a model known for her work predominantly in Telugu and Tamil language films. She was one of the leading actresses in South Indian cinema for a decade from 1993 to 2004. In her career spanning 15 years, she starred in over 80 feature films - 38 in Telugu, 35 films in Tamil, six in Kannada, two in Malayalam and one film in Hindi.
Yaragudipadi Venkata Mahalakshmi, known professionally as Lakshmi, is an Indian actress known for her works primarily in the southern film industry, along with some Hindi films. Her debut as a full fledged actress happened with the Tamil film Jeevanaamsam in 1968 and in the same year, she debuted in Kannada with Goa Dalli CID 999 and in Telugu with the film Bandhavyalu.
Umashree is an Indian actress and politician. She appears in the Kannada language, particularly in Character roles to supporting roles. She received National Film Award for Best Actress for her role as Gulabi in the 2008 Kannada movie Gulabi Talkies.
Shubha Poonja is an Indian actress and former model. She has mostly appeared in Kannada films and Tamil.
Sanjjanaa Galrani is an Indian actress and model who made her film debut in the 2005 Telugu film Soggadu. She is known for her role in the Kannada film Ganda Hendathi (2006). She played a supporting role in the 2008 Telugu film Bujjigadu starring Prabhas. In 2017, she played Chandri in the Kannada crime drama Dandupalya 2.
Radhika Pandit is an Indian actress who is primarily known for her work in Kannada films. Pandit is recipient of three Filmfare Awards South, one Karnataka State Film Award and one South Indian International Movie Award.
Lakshmi Gopalaswamy is an Indian actress from Karnataka and a classical dancer, qualified in Bharatanatyam. She has mainly acted in Malayalam films, while also appearing in few Tamil and Kannada films.
Sandeep Malani is an Indian film director, documentary film maker, screenplay writer, and actor. He is the managing director of the production company 'Malani Talkies'.
Nidhi Subbaiah is an Indian actress and model, who has appeared in various television advertisements and films, she is known for her performance in successful Kannada movies such as Pancharangi (2010) and Krishnan Marriage Story (2011). She made her Bollywood debut with Oh My God and Ajab Gazabb Love.
Atithi is a 2002 Indian Kannada language film directed by P. Sheshadri. The film deals with terrorism and the psychology of the terrorist. The 9/11 US tragedy and a car blast in Bangalore inspired the director Sheshadri to make a film about the psychology of terrorism.
Kriti Kharbanda is an Indian actress who predominantly works in Kannada, Hindi and Telugu language films. After beginning her career as a model, she made her acting debut with the Telugu film Boni (2009) and her Kannada debut with Chirru (2010). She is a recipient of a SIIMA Award along with two Filmfare Awards South nominations.
Praveen D Rao is an Indian musician, music director and a lyricist for Kannada language songs. He is based in Bangalore, India. He plays keyboard, tabla and others.
Drama is a 2012 Indian Kannada romantic comedy thriller written, directed and co-produced by Yogaraj Bhat under the banner Yogaraj Movies and Jayanna Combines. It stars Yash, Radhika Pandit, Sathish Ninasam and Sindhu Lokanath in leading roles and veteran actor Ambareesh in an extended cameo appearance.
Parvati Nair is an Indian model and actress who works in the South Indian film industry. Born into a Malayali family in Abu Dhabi, she trained as a software professional from Manipal Institute of Technology. She started modelling at the age of 15.
Mr. and Mrs. Ramachari is a 2014 Indian Kannada romantic drama film written and directed by Santhosh Ananddram and produced by the duo Jayanna and Bhogendra under the banner Jayanna Combines. It stars Yash and Radhika Pandit in the lead roles. The supporting cast features Srinath, Achyuth Kumar and Malavika Avinash. The story revolves around two characters: a tearaway and hot-headed youngster, Ramachari, who is a diehard fan of Vishnuvardhan, and his love interest, the sophisticated Divya.
Prakash Belawadi is an Indian theatre artist, film director, television and media personality, who's also a teacher, activist and a journalist. He hails from Bangalore. He has participated in many seminars, conferences and festivals in India and abroad. He is a motivational speaker at events and TEDx conferences. He is also a mentor with the founding team of BISFF since 2010.
