Singanalluru Puttaswamaiah Muthuraj, better known by his stage name Dr. Rajkumar, was an Indian actor and singer who worked in Kannada cinema. Regarded as one of the greatest actors in the history of Indian cinema and a versatile actor, he is considered a cultural icon and holds a matinée idol status in the Kannada diaspora, among whom he is popularly called as Nata Saarvabhouma, Bangarada Manushya, Vara Nata, Gaana Gandharva, Rasikara Raja, Kannada Kanteerava and Rajanna/Annavru. He was honoured with Padma Bhushan in 1983 and Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1995. He is the only lead actor to win National Award for singing. His 35 movies have been remade 58 times in 9 languages by 34 actors making him the first actor whose movies were remade more than fifty times and the first actor whose movies were remade in nine languages. He was the first actor in India to enact a role which was based on James Bond in a full-fledged manner. The success of his movie Jedara Bale is credited to have widely inspired a Desi bond genre in other Indian film industries. On the occasion of the "Centenary of Indian Cinema" in April 2013, Forbes included his performance in Bangaarada Manushya on its list of "25 Greatest Acting Performances of Indian Cinema". Upon his death, The New York Times had described him as one of India's most popular movie stars.
Puneeth Rajkumar, colloquially known as Appu, was an Indian actor, philanthropist, playback singer, television presenter and producer, who worked in Kannada cinema. He was the youngest son of actor and matinee idol Dr. Rajkumar. He was one of the most popular actors in Kannada cinema. He appeared as a lead in 32 films. As a child, he appeared in many films. His performances as a child actor in Vasantha Geetha (1980), Bhagyavantha (1981), Chalisuva Modagalu (1982), Eradu Nakshatragalu (1983), Bhakta Prahaladha (1983), Yarivanu (1984) and Bettada Hoovu (1985) were praised. He won the National Film Award for Best Child Artist for his role of Ramu in Bettada Hoovu. He also won Karnataka State Award Best Child artist for Chalisuva Modagalu and Eradu Nakshatragalu. Puneeth's first lead role was in 2002's Appu. In a career spanning three decades, he has won one National Film Award, four Karnataka State Film Awards, six Filmfare Awards South and five SIIMA awards. He was conferred with the Doctorate by Mysuru University. The Karnataka Government conferred the state's highest civilian award, Karnataka Ratna, to Puneeth Rajkumar on 1 November 2022, posthumously.
Shiva Rajkumar is an Indian actor, film producer and television presenter, who predominantly works in Kannada cinema. In a career spanning over three decades, he has worked in over 125 films in Kannada and has received several awards, including four Karnataka State Film Awards, four Filmfare Awards South and six South Indian International Movie Awards.
Shweta, known by her stage name Rakshita, is an Indian television personality, film producer and former actress known for her work in Kannada films, addition to a few Telugu and Tamil films.
Vijay Raghavendra is an Indian actor who appears predominantly in Kannada films. Referred to popularly as "Chinnari Mutha", Vijay is the son of producer S. A. Chinne Gowda and nephew of actor Dr. Rajkumar.
Sriimurali, also known simply as Murali, is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Kannada cinema. After making his debut in 2003 in Chandra Chakori, he appeared in Kanti as the eponymous lead, a performance that won him the Karnataka State Film Award for Best Actor in 2004. His performance in the 2014 Kannada film Ugramm received unanimous praise and emerged as a major success.
Mythri (transl. Alliance) is a 2015 Indian social drama film written and directed by B. M. Giriraj and produced by N. S. Rajkumar under the banner of Omkar Movies. It stars Mohanlal and Puneeth Rajkumar in extended cameo roles, and features Adithya Bharadwaj, Archana, Atul Kulkarni, and Bhavana in substantial roles. Ilaiyaraaja scored the music for the film and Krishna Kumar handled the cinematography. The film is shot in both Kannada and Malayalam and the film is a social drama, and also focuses on relationships in the time of liberalisation.
Rana Vikrama is a 2015 Indian Kannada-language action thriller film written and directed by Pavan Wadeyar. It stars Puneeth Rajkumar, Anjali, Adah Sharma, Dinesh Mangalore, Vikram Singh, Girish Karnad, Avinash, Sudha Belawadi and Mukhyamantri Chandru. The soundtrack of the film was released on 21 March 2015.
Kalenahalli Adaviswamy Dhananjaya, also known as Daali, is an Indian actor, lyricist and film producer known for his work in Kannada cinema. He made his acting debut in Director's Special in 2013 for which he won the best debut actor award at the 3rd SIIMA Awards. He turned producer through the film, Badava Rascal. Dhananjaya got the major breakthrough in the film Tagaru (2018) directed by Duniya Soori for his performance as a menacing villain. He is now popularly addressed as Daali - the character name in the film. Dhananjaya has also played roles in films in other languages such as Telugu and Tamil.
Puneeth Rajkumar was an Indian actor known for his work in Kannada films. As a six-month-old infant, he made a cameo appearance in V. Somashekar's Premada Kanike (1976) and followed it with Sanaadi Appanna (1977) when he was a year old. Most of his earlier films had his father Rajkumar playing his reel father as well. Films like Thayige Thakka Maga, Vasantha Geetha and Bhagyavantha followed up which also showcased his singing skills. For the N. Lakshminarayan film Bettada Hoovu he was awarded the National Film Award for Best Child Artist. He ended his childhood appearances with the action film Parashuram.
Santhosh Ananddram is an Indian film lyric writer, screenwriter, director who works in Kannada cinema. He rose to fame with his debut directional venture 2014 film Mr. and Mrs. Ramachari. He later went on and directed Power Star Puneeth Rajkumar in Raajakumara and Yuvarathnaa. Raajakumara was the industry hit in Kannada cinema, until the release of K.G.F: Chapter 1.
Raajakumara is a 2017 Indian Kannada-language action drama film written and directed by Santhosh Ananddram and produced by Vijay Kiragandur under Hombale Films. It stars Puneeth Rajkumar and Priya Anand. Ananth Nag, Sarath Kumar, Prakash Raj, Chikkanna, Sadhu Kokila, Achyuth Kumar and Avinash play supporting roles. The film's music album was composed by V. Harikrishna.
Prithveesh K. Bhat or Prathvish K. Bhat is an Indian Rubik's Cube speedcuber and mosaic artist. He has set several Rubik's Cube records, including two Guinness World Records namely ′Largest Dual Sided Rubik’s Cube Mosaic′, leading a team of 20 members and ′Most contributions to a Rubik's cube mosaic′, leading a team of 293 people.
Aduva Gombe is a 2019 Indian Kannada-language drama film written and directed by S. K. Bhagavan of the famed duo Dorai–Bhagavan, who returns to film direction after 22 years. Produced under the banner Kasthuri Nivasa Creations, the film is jointly funded by Shivappa A and Venugopal K. The film stars Sanchari Vijay and Rishita Malnad. The supporting cast includes Ananth Nag and Sudha Belawadi among others. The film's score and soundtrack is composed by Hemanth Kumar and cinematography is by Ganesh.
Amoli: Priceless is a 2018 documentary film on commercial sexual exploitation of children. The film is directed by National Award-winning directors Jasmine Kaur Roy and Avinash Roy and produced by Culture Machine. The music was scored by Tajdar Junaid. The film was released in May 2018.
Yuvarathnaa is a 2021 Indian Kannada-language action drama film written and directed by Santhosh Ananddram. produced by Vijay Kiragandur under the banner Hombale Films, it stars Puneeth Rajkumar, Sayyeshaa, Dhananjay, Prakash Raj, Diganth, and Sai Kumar. The music for the film was composed by Thaman S, while the cinematography and editing was handled by Venkatesh Anguraj and Jnaanesh B. Matad, respectively. The film was theatrically released on 1 April 2021. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and audiences alike, with appreciation for Puneeth's performance.
Hombale Films is an Indian film production company mainly known for the K.G.F franchise and Kantara. It was founded by Vijay Kiragandur and named by Puneeth Rajkumar, who collaborated with the company on 3 films.
James is a 2022 Indian Kannada-language action drama film written and directed by Chethan Kumar. It stars Puneeth Rajkumar in the titlular role, along with Priya Anand, R. Sarathkumar, Srikanth, Anu Prabhakar, Madhusudhan Rao, Mukesh Rishi, Adithya Menon, Avinash, Chikkanna and John Kokken play supporting roles. This is Puneeth's posthumous appearance following his death on 29 October 2021. The film marked the second collaboration between Puneeth, Priya and Sarathkumar after Raajakumara (2017). The film score and soundtrack were composed by V. Harikrishna and Charan Raj respectively.
Rajatantra is a 2021 Indian Kannada-language film directed by PVR Swamy in his directorial debut. The film stars Raghavendra Rajkumar. P.V.R. Swamy previously worked as a cinematographer for Raghavendra Rajkumar's Ammana Mane (2019). The film was the first release of 2021.
