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.
Suhasini Maniratnam is an Indian actress, director, producer and writer in the Tamil film industry. She has worked as an actress in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films. She made her cinematic debut with the 1980, Tamil film Nenjathai Killathe. Suhasini then won National Film Award for Best Actress for her performance in Sindhu Bhairavi (1985).
Prabhu Deva is an Indian dance choreographer, film director, producer and actor who has worked predominantly in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu and Kannada 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.
Udaya Chandrika, better known by her screen name Radha is a former Indian actress, who predominantly appeared in Tamil and Telugu films in addition to a few Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi films. She was one of the top heroines in the film industry for about a decade, from 1981 to 1991, dominating the 1980s era.
Kongara Jaggayya was an Indian actor, littérateur, journalist, lyricist, dubbing artist and politician known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema and Telugu theatre. He was known as Kanchu Kantam Jaggayya (Telugu) for his booming voice. In a film career spanning forty years as a matinee idol, he starred in eighty films, as a lead actor, and lead antagonist in a variety of genres. In 1967, he was elected as a member of the fourth Lok Sabha, from the constituency of Ongole, becoming the first Indian film actor to be elected as a member of the Parliament.
Vaanathaippola is a 2000 Indian Tamil-language family drama film written and directed by Vikraman. The film stars Vijayakanth in dual role. The supporting cast include Meena, Prabhu Deva, Livingston, Kausalya and Anju Aravind. Produced by V. Ravichandran under Oscar Films, the film's music was composed by S. A. Rajkumar and cinematography handled by Arthur A. Wilson. The film tells the story of a caring brother who makes sacrifices to ensure his three younger brothers succeed in life.
Dharma Durai is a 1991 Indian Tamil-language action drama film directed by Rajasekhar and written by Panchu Arunachalam. A remake of the 1989 Kannada film Deva, it stars Rajinikanth and Gautami, with Madhu, Charan Raj, Nizhalgal Ravi and Vaishnavi in supporting roles. The film revolves around the title character seeking revenge on his younger brothers for taking advantage of his innocence.
Haranath was an Indian actor who worked in Telugu films.
Anuradha is an Indian film and television actress. She was mainly active in the 1980s and 1990s. She was known for her item numbers. She has acted in Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Telugu, Hindi and Oriya-language films.
Appaji is a 1996 Indian Kannada-language action drama film starring Vishnuvardhan and Aamani. The film was directed by D. Rajendra Babu, written by V. Vijayendra Prasad and produced under Surya International banner. The music was scored by M. M. Keeravani. The movie was dubbed in Telugu with the same name.
Guru Shishyaru is a 1981 Indian Kannada-language comedy film, directed by H. R. Bhargava and produced by Dwarakish under his "Dwarkish Chitra" production house.
Jimmy Gallu is a 1982 Indian Kannada-language drama film directed by K. S. L. Swamy and produced by Shashirekha. The story is written by Venugopal Kasaragod. The film stars Vishnuvardhan, Sripriya, Lokesh and Hema Choudhary. The film was widely appreciated for its songs and story upon release. The songs composed by Vijaya Bhaskar were huge hits. The film was remade in Telugu as Muddayi and in Hindi as Mulzim.
Kadamba is a 2004 Indian Kannada-language action drama film starring Vishnuvardhan, Bhanupriya and Naveen Krishna. The film is directed and written by director Suresh Krissna, making his debut in Kannada cinema and features soundtrack by Deva. The film is inspired by the 1974 Tamil movie Thanga Pathakkam.
Kalla Kulla is a 1975 Indian Kannada-language comedy drama film, directed by K. S. R. Das and produced by Shastry Associates. The story is written by M. D. Sundar. The film stars Vishnuvardhan, Dwarakish, Bhavani and Jayalakshmi. The film was widely appreciated for its songs and story upon release. The songs composed by Rajan–Nagendra were huge hits. The movie was dubbed in Hindi as Chor Ka Bhai Chor. H.R. Bhargava was the associate director of this movie. The director remade the movie in Telugu in 1976 as Kallanum Kullanum.
Kotigobba is a 2001 Indian Kannada-language action film starring Vishnuvardhan, Priyanka Upendra and Ashish Vidyarthi. The film was a remake of Rajinikanth's 1995 Tamil film Baashha which itself was inspired from the 1991 Hindi movie Hum. This movie was directed by Naganna and features soundtrack from Deva who also composed the music for the Tamil version. Vishnuvardhan was nominated for Filmfare Best Actor category.
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.
Manasella Neene is a 2002 Indian Kannada-language romance film directed by Mugur Sundar, a choreographer marking his debut in film direction. The film stars his youngest son Nagendra Prasad and Gayathri Raguram with Ananth Nag and Srinath in supporting roles. This film is the remake of the Telugu film Manasantha Nuvve (2001).
Arjun Sarja is an Indian actor, producer and director who works predominantly in Tamil cinema and he also established his career in Telugu and Kannada cinema apart from a few Hindi and Malayalam films. He debuted as a child actor in the film Simhada Mari Sainya in the year 1981. Sarja had acted in more than 160 movies. He has directed 12 films and also produced and distributed a number of films. After starring in numerous Kannada films with minor roles, he starred in his first movie as an independent actor in Male Bantu Male. In 1984, Sarja made his Tamil Debut in Rama Narayanan's film Nandri. During the subsequent years he acted in many Telugu and Kannada films portraying lead and supporting roles in Trimurtulu (1987), Premagni (1989), Prathap (1990) and Shivanaga (1992).
Jana Nayaka is a 1988 Indian Kannada action drama directed by H. R. Bhargava, jointly produced by Bhargava and Rajaram, edited by Victor, starring Vishnuvardhan, Bhavya and Sudheer in the lead roles with Doddanna, Devaraj, Mukhyamantri Chandru, Ramesh Bhat, Sundar Krishna Urs, K. S. Ashwath, Rajanand and Umashree in the supporting roles. The Rajan–Nagendra duo composed and scored the film's soundtrack.
Kannappa is an upcoming Indian Telugu-language fantasy drama film directed by Mukesh Kumar Singh. It is based on the story of Kannappa, a devotee of Hindu god Shiva. The film was produced by Mohan Babu through his companies AVA Entertainment and 24 Frames Factory. The film stars Vishnu Manchu in the title role, who also wrote the screenplay of the film based on a story developed by Paruchuri Gopala Krishna, G. Nageswara Reddy, Eshwar Reddy, and Thota Prasadnaidu.
