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.
Balachandar, known by his stage name Manobala, was an Indian actor, film producer, director, comedian, and YouTuber who predominantly played supporting roles in Tamil-language films. He worked predominantly in the film industry for nearly forty years and was notable for his unique body language and dialogue delivery and was also well known for his intonation.
Madana is a 2006 Indian Kannada-language romantic crime thriller film directed by actor Jai Jagadish, making his directorial debut. The film, a remake of the successful 2004 Tamil film Manmadhan, stars Aditya in the title role with Samiksha, Charmila, Shobaraj, Ramesh Bhat and Bullet Prakash playing supporting roles. The film was released on 3 November 2006 to mostly negative reviews and failed to attracted the audience, thus ending up as box office bomb.
Drohi (transl. Traitor) is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language crime action film written and directed by Sudha Kongara Prasad in her Tamil debut. The film stars Srikanth, Vishnu Vishal, Poorna and Poonam Bajwa in lead roles. The music was composed by V. Selvaganesh with cinematography by Alphonse Roy and editing by A. Sreekar Prasad. The film released on 10 September 2010.
Bandhana is a 1984 Indian Kannada-language romantic drama film directed by Rajendra Singh Babu from a screenplay by H. V. Subba Rao and Rajendra Singh Babu, based on a novel of the same name by Usha Navaratnanram. The film revolves around the relationship between a surgeon, Harish and his student Nandini. The film stars Vishuvardhan as Dr. Harish and Suhasini as his protégé Nandini, along with Jai Jagadish, Roopadevi and G. K. Govinda Rao in supporting roles.
Kizhakku Vaasal is a 1990 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film directed and co-written by R. V. Udayakumar. The film stars Karthik, Revathi and Khushbu. It was released on 12 July 1990 and ran for over 175 days in theatres. In 1992, the film was remade in Hindi as Mere Sajana Saath Nibhana and in Kannada as Sindhoora Thilaka. In 1995, it was remade in Telugu as Chilakapachcha Kaapuram.
Poochudava is a 1997 Indian Tamil-language romance film directed by K. R. Udayasankar and produced by K. Jayaraman. The film stars Abbas and Simran in the lead roles. Manivannan, Nagesh, Kalpana, Jai Ganesh, Chinni Jayanth, PC Ramakrishnan and Kavitha play supporting roles. It was released on 12 December 1997. The film was dubbed in Telugu as Pelli Kala Vachinde Bala.
Kai Veesamma Kai Veesu is a 1989 Indian Tamil-language film directed by Vinodh, starring Radhika and Nirosha. It was released on 14 July 1989. The film was dubbed in Telugu as Kaliyuga Durga in 1990.
January 1 is a 1984 Indian Tamil-language film written and directed by Manivannan. The film stars Vijayakanth, Sulakshana, Sathyaraj and Tara. It was released on 6 December 1984, and became a success.
Ee Bandhana is a 2007 Indian Kannada-language drama film written, directed and co-produced by Vijayalakshmi Singh. This marks her debut directorial project. It stars Vishnuvardhan and Jayapradha. While Darshan, Ananth Nag, Tara, Sharmiela Mandre, Tarun Chandra and Jennifer Kotwal form the rest of the ensemble cast. The movie was produced by Jai Jagadish for Dakshath Combines.
Habba (transl. Festival) is a 1999 Indian Kannada-language drama film written and directed by D. Rajendra Babu. The film has an ensemble cast including Vishnuvardhan, Ambareesh, Devaraj, Jayapradha, Urvashi, Shashikumar, Ramkumar, Vijayalakshmi, Kasthuri and Charulatha. The movie was produced by Bharathi Devi for Chinni Chitra productions. The movie became a blockbuster and ran for more than 25 weeks. The film was remade in Telugu in 2002 as Chandravamsam starring Krishna. The movie was loosely based on the Pandavas's exile episode in the Virata Parva of Mahabharata.
Himapatha (transl. Snowfall) is a 1995 Indian Kannada-language romantic drama film directed by Rajendra Singh Babu and produced by Rockline Venkatesh. The film stars Vishnuvardhan, Suhasini and Jaya Prada. The film was widely popular for the songs composed by Hamsalekha upon release. The film was extensively shot in Shimla and Bijapur. It is based on the Kannada novel of the same name, by T. K. Rama Rao.
Nagarahole is a 1977 Indian Kannada-language children's adventure film written by H. V. Subba Rao, with screenplay and direction by Rajendra Singh Babu, starring Vishnuvardhan, Bharathi and Ambareesh. The film was dubbed in Malayalam as Kaadu Njangalude Veedu, in Tamil as Yaanai Engal Thozhan and in Hindi as Bahadur Bachhe. Director Babu revealed that the base plotline was inspired by the books of Enid Blyton.
Simha Gharjane is a 1983 Indian Kannada-language film, directed by S. A. Chandrasekhar and produced by A. R. Raju. The film stars Vishnuvardhan, Vijayashanti, Kalyan Kumar and Sharada. The film was remade by the director himself in Tamil as Puthu Yugam (1985).
Maduve Madu Thamashe Nodu is a 1984 Indian Kannada-language film, directed by Sathya and produced by Dwarakish. The film stars Vishnuvardhan, Aarathi, Dwarkish, Mahalakshmi and Jai Jagadish. The film is a remake of Tamil film Dowry Kalyanam (1983).
Ee Jeeva Ninagagi is a 1986 Indian Kannada-language romantic drama film, directed by V. Somashekhar and produced by Vijaya Shankar Bhat. The film stars Vishnuvardhan, Urvashi, Baby Shalini and Lokanath. The film has musical score by Vijayanand. Vasu who wrote story for this film remade it in Tamil as Amma Vandhachu.
Maha Purusha is a 1985 Indian Kannada-language film, produced and directed by Joe Simon, H. G. Raju, K. S. Nataraju and D. J. Nayak. The film stars Vishnuvardhan, Gayatri, Jai Jagadish and Chandrashekar. The film has musical score by Satyam.
Nammoora Raja is a 1988 Indian Kannada film, directed by H. R. Bhargava. The film stars Vishnuvardhan, Manjula Sharma, Jai Jagadish and Mukhyamantri Chandru in the lead roles. The film has musical score by Rajan–Nagendra. P. Vasu, the story writer of this film remade the movie in Tamil as Vaathiyaar Veettu Pillai.
Ravivarma is a 1992 Indian Kannada film, directed by Joe Simon and produced by Hemalatha Ramesh. The film stars Vishnuvardhan, Bhavya and Rupini in lead roles. The film had musical score by Upendra Kumar. The film was a romantic drama and a remake of the 1991 Tamil movie Bramma.
Sathya Jyothi is a 1986 Kannada-language film. Starring Vishnuvardhan, Sumalatha, Urvashi, Jai Jagadish, T N Balakrishna, C H Lokanath. Directed by K. Rangaraj and music scored by Ilaya Raja. This film is a remake of Malayalam movie Nirakkoottu. This film was jointly produced by Jubilee Productions and Sathya Jyothi Films. It was an average success.
