Upendra Rao is an Indian actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter, playback singer, lyricist and politician who worked primarily in Kannada films. He has also worked in a few Telugu and Tamil films. In 2017, He joined the political party Karnataka Pragnyavanta Janata Paksha, before quitting the party in 2018 due to internal differences and formed another party named Uttama Prajaakeeya Party (UPP), which was based on the principles of Prajākīya. He received an Honorary Doctorate from Angkor University in 2015.
Kashinatha Hathwara was an Indian actor and filmmaker who primarily worked in Kannada films. He also worked in Bollywood remakes of his films. With a career spanning over three decades, Kashinath acted in or directed over 40 films, usually comedies. He is credited for introducing new talents such as actor Upendra, musician V. Manohar, and director Sunil Kumar Desai, alongside many other technicians who went on to become successful in the Kannada film industry.
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 among 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.
Nandamuri Balakrishna , also known as Balayya or NBK, is an Indian actor, film producer and politician known for his works in Telugu cinema. Balakrishna is an elected member of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly from Hindupuram constituency since 2014. The sixth son of actor and former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh N. T. Rama Rao, Balakrishna made his debut as a child artist at the age of 14 with the film Tatamma Kala (1974). Balakrishna is a recipient of three state Nandi Awards, three SIIMA Awards, and an IIFA Award. In 2012, Balakrishna was the chief guest at the 43rd IFFI. Currently, he serves as the Chairman of Basavatarakam Indo-American Cancer Hospital and Research Institute in Hyderabad.
Shamshuddin Ibrahim, known professionally as Shaam, is an Indian actor and model who mainly appears Tamil and Telugu-language films. Starting his career as a professional model, he soon made his acting debut in the film 12B (2001). He further appeared in lead roles in films such as Lesa Lesa (2003), Iyarkai (2003), and Ullam Ketkumae (2005). He garnered acclaim for his role in the Telugu film Kick (2009), which earned him the name Kick Shaam. Kick enabled Shaam to star in other prominent Telugu films such as Race Gurram (2014). After a hiatus, he returned to Tamil cinema with 6 (2013), Purampokku Engira Podhuvudamai (2015) and Varisu (2023).
Srinivasa Sarja, better known by his stage name Arjun Sarja or simply Arjun, is an Indian actor, producer, and director who works predominantly in Tamil cinema in addition to Telugu and Kannada films and a few Malayalam and Hindi films. Referred to by the media and his fans as "Action King" for his roles in action films, Arjun has acted in more than 160 films, most of them being lead roles. He is one of few South Indian actors to attract fan following from multiple states of India. He has directed 12 films and also produced and distributed a number of films.
Prakash Raj is an Indian actor, film director, producer, television presenter, and politician. Known for his works in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, English, and Hindi-language films. he is the recipient of several accolades, including five National Film Awards, eight Nandi Awards, eight Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, six Filmfare Awards South, four SIIMA Awards, three CineMAA Awards, and three Vijay Awards. Apart from his native languages Tulu and Kannada, Raj's fluency in Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, English, and Marathi has placed him among the most sought after actors in Indian cinema.
Prabhu Deva is an Indian dance choreographer, film director, producer and actor who has worked predominantly in Tamil, Hindi and Telugu language films. In a career spanning 32 years, he has performed and designed dancing styles and has garnered two National Film Awards for Best Choreography. In 2019, he was awarded the Padma Shri for his contributions to dance.
Veeraswamy Ravichandran, known mononymously as Ravichandran, is an Indian actor, director, producer, music director, lyricist and editor working predominantly in Kannada cinema. The son of film producer N. Veeraswamy, he continues to produce and distribute films under his father's production house, Sri Eswari Productions. He is popularly referred to as "Crazy Star" by the media and his followers.
Ganesh Kishan, known mononymously as Ganesh, is an Indian actor, director, producer and television presenter known for his work in Kannada cinema. Through his career in films and television shows, he has become one of the most popular celebrities and highest-paid actors in Kannada cinema. He is the recipient of several awards, including two Filmfare Awards.
Arun Vijay, formerly known as Arun Kumar, is an Indian actor who works primarily in Tamil cinema. He also starred in a few films in Telugu, Kannada and Hindi.
Thiagarajan Sivanandam is an Indian actor, film director and film producer in Tamil cinema. Besides Tamil, he has acted in several Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu and Hindi films. He is the father of Tamil actor Prashanth, son-in-law of actor-director Peketi Sivaram and the maternal uncle of Tamil actor Vikram.
Murali Siddalingaiah, known professionally as Murali, was an Indian actor who worked predominantly in Tamil cinema, where he was known as Puratchi Nayagan. He has mainly acted in Tamil films as well as few Kannada films. He was famous for roles that portrayed him as a perceptive singer or a tragic lover. His son, Atharvaa, debuted as an actor in the 2010 film Baana Kaathadi.
Meghana Sundar Raj Sarja is an Indian actress who primarily works in Malayalam and Kannada films along with a few Telugu and Tamil films. She made her acting debut in the 2009 Telugu film Bendu Apparao R.M.P. She has won Karnataka State Film Award for Best Actress for her performance in Iruvudellava Bittu, a 2018 Kannada film.
Richard Rishi is an Indian actor who predominantly appears in Tamil and Telugu films and few Malayalam and Kannada films. He is known for Koottu, A Film by Aravind and his subsequent movies with director Mohan G, namely Draupathi and Rudra Thandavam.
Prem Kumar, known mononymously as Prem, also popularly called as Nenapirali Prem, is an Indian actor and producer who works in Kannada films. He made his acting debut through the film Praana (2004). However, his major break came through the film Nenapirali (2005) for which he won his first Filmfare Award for Best Actor. Since then, Prem is largely offered films with romantic theme thereby, earning the title Lovely Star in Kannada cinema. Prem also produced the film Pallakki (2007) besides acting in the lead role.
Tarun Chandra is an Indian actor based in Kannada Film Industry. He made his film debut in the multi-starrer Khushi (2003) and has since then acted in various films, notably being, Geleya (2007), Love Guru (2009) and Gaana Bajaana (2010).
Devaraj is an Indian actor and theatre actor who works in Indian film industry. He has largely featured in Kannada films performing various roles as a lead character, supporting character and villainous character. He has also featured in Telugu and Tamil films.
Sharan is an Indian Comedy actor and an occasional playback singer and film producer who works in Kannada cinema. He made his acting debut in the mid-1990s and appeared mostly in comedy roles and small supporting roles. However, he earned much recognition during the late 2000s and made his lead role for his 100th film Rambo and since then featuring as the lead actor in comedy films.
Love is a 2004 Indian Kannada-language romance film written, directed and produced by Rajendra Singh Babu. The film stars Mohanlal, Aditya, making his debut, and Rakshita in lead roles, while Amrish Puri and Kota Srinivasa Rao feature in supporting roles. This was also Mohanlal debut in Kannada. The film features soundtrack composed by Bollywood composer Anu Malik, marking his debut in Kannada cinema. A. R. Rahman's Airtel jingle was featured and reused for another four similar tunes in the film. The film was dubbed and released in Telugu as Prema Nagar and in Malayalam as Aey Taxi.
