Kannada cinema, also known as Sandalwood, or Chandanavana, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Kannada language widely spoken in the state of Karnataka. Kannada cinema is based in Gandhi Nagar, Bangalore. The 1934 film Sati Sulochana directed by Y. V. Rao was the first talkie film released in the Kannada language. It was also the first film starring Subbaiah Naidu and Tripuramba, and the first screened in the erstwhile Mysore Kingdom. It was produced by Chamanlal Doongaji, who in 1932 founded South India Movietone in Bangalore.
Girish Karnad was an Indian actor, film director, Kannada writer, playwright and a Jnanpith awardee, who predominantly worked in Kannada, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Marathi films. His rise as a playwright in the 1960s marked the coming of age of modern Indian playwriting in Kannada, just as Badal Sarkar did in Bengali, Vijay Tendulkar in Marathi, and Mohan Rakesh in Hindi. He was a recipient of the 1998 Jnanpith Award, the highest literary honour conferred in India.
Girish Kasaravalli is an Indian film director, in the Kannada cinema, and one of the pioneers of the Parallel Cinema. Known internationally for his works, Kasaravalli has garnered fourteen National Film Awards, including four Best Feature Films; Ghatashraddha (1977), Tabarana Kathe (1986), Thaayi Saheba (1997) and Dweepa (2002). In 2011, he was awarded with the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award by Government of India.
Shivaramaiah Ramachandra Aithal, popularly known as S. Ramachandra, was a National Award winning Indian cinematographer. In 2006, he was honoured with Lifetime Contribution to Kannada Cinema Award at the Karnataka State Film Awards. He was recognised as a gifted cinematographer and as a force behind the offbeat films in Kannada cinema.
Arundhati Nag is an Indian actress. She has been involved with multilingual Theatre in India, for over 25 years, first in Mumbai where she got involved with Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA), and did various productions in Gujarati, Marathi, and Hindi theatre, and then in Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam and English, in Bangalore.
Tabarana Kathe is a 1987 Indian Kannada-language film released directed by Girish Kasaravalli. It was based on a short story of the same name by Poornachandra Tejaswi. Film historian S. Theodore Baskaran picked Tabarana Kathe in Rediff.com's ten best Indian films of all time.
Ramchandra P. N. is a filmmaker making feature films, short films, documentaries and TV programs. in India. He is a Tuluva based in Mumbai.
K. M. Chaitanya is a film director, documentary maker and theater person. His first feature film Aa dinagalu in Kannada, won several awards including the Filmfare Awards South for Best Director and Best Feature Film in 2007. Chaitanya also won awards for Best Debutant Director by the South Indian Cinematographers' Association, Chennai Film Fans Association and Raghavendra Chitravani Award. Aa Dinagalu was listed by The Week among the top 10 Indian films of 2007. Chaitanya studied Journalism at Christ College.
Nagamandala is a 1997 Indian Kannada-language drama film, directed by T. S. Nagabharana based on a play of same name by Girish Karnad. It was produced by Srihari L. Khoday and the music was scored by C. Aswath. It is an adaptation of a 1988 play by Karnad with the same name which is based on a local folk tale and ritual. It stars Prakash Raj and Vijayalakshmi in the lead roles. The film depicts a romantic plot between a woman and a snake in the disguise of her uncaring husband.
Bhaskar Chandavarkar was an Indian sitar player, academic and film and theatre composer who worked with well-known directors of Indian cinema like Mrinal Sen, Girish Karnad, Aparna Sen, K. G. George and Amol Palekar in various languages including Marathi, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali and Oriya and was known for his blending of Indian classical and western music.
Pankuj Parashar is an Indian film and television director. Among his most-known are police-thriller Jalwa (1987) starring Naseeruddin Shah, ChaalBaaz (1989), and television detective series Karamchand (1985). He also makes television commercials, corporate films and documentaries.
Vaishali Kasaravalli was a noted Kannada actress, television serial director, and costume designer.
Sridhar is an Indian actor in the Kannada film industry, and also a dance scholar, performer and choreographer, trained in Bharatanatyam. He also holds a degree in engineering. Sridhar is married to Anuradha, also a Bharatanatyam dance performer; both have performed for many dance shows as a duo. He received doctorate( D.Litt) for his thesis on Socio Cultural aspects of the male dancer in Bharatanatyam form the Kannada University, Hampi ( 2015)
Yelandur Narayan Ravindra, known mononymously by his stage name Avinash, is an Indian actor who appears predominantly in Kannada and Tamil films. He has been working in films for more than three decades and has acted in over 200 films. Known for his authentic portrayal of complex characters and versatility, Avinash is one of the most sought actors in the supporting category. He is one of the few actors to enjoy both critical and commercial success.
Shashidhar Adapa is an Indian production designer, set designer and puppet designer, known predominantly for his work in Kannada cinema. In 1984, he formed Prathiroopi, a television, film, and stage set design company.
Koormavatara is a 2011 Indian Kannada drama film directed by Girish Kasaravalli, based on short story of the same name written by Kum. Veerabhadrappa. It stars Shikaripura Krishnamurthy, Jayanthi and Apoorva Kasaravalli in the lead roles, and Harish Raj, Cheswa, Rashmi Sumukha, Goa Dattu and Sumukha Bharadwaj feature in supporting roles. The story revolves around a government employee cast in a play to portray Mahatma Gandhi, who, on course, realizes that playing Gandhi is easier than imbibing and implementing his principles in real-life.
Isaac Thomas Kottukapally was an Indian film score composer, music director and script writer working mainly in Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi films. He scored music for several English documentaries and commercials.
Kubi Matthu Iyala is a 1992 Indian Kannada-language comedy drama film directed and produced by Sadanand Suvarna and written by Poornachandra Tejaswi based on his own story. The film featured Charuhasan, Raghubir Yadav, Lalithanjali and Vaishali Kasaravalli in the lead roles along with a large number of theater artistes in key supporting roles. The film's music was composed by L. Vaidyanathan and cinematography is G.S. Bhaskar.
Ananya Kasaravalli is an Indian actress and director in the Kannada film industry, and a theatre artist in Karnataka, India. Born into a family of filmmakers, she had a successful acting career in films, television and theater before taking up filmmaking at LV Prasad Film and TV Academy, Chennai.
