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 and versatile actors in the history of Indian cinema, 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 Playback singing. His 39 movies have been remade 63 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.
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.
Bangaarada Manushya is a 1972 Indian Kannada language film based on T. K. Rama Rao's novel of same name. Ramarao was known for his crime and detective novels, but this film was a social drama. It was directed by S. Siddalingaiah under the banner Srinidhi Productions. Prior to this, Siddalingaiah had worked with Dr. Rajkumar in Mayor Muthanna, Baalu Belagithu, Namma Samsara, Thayi Devaru, Nyayave Devaru. It stars Dr. Rajkumar and Bharathi. The film was screened for over two years at the States Theatre in Bangalore and was screened for sixty weeks in Chamundeshwari theatre in Mysore, the film Completed one year in many centres and twenty five weeks in every major and minor centre. The movie saw a 25 weeks run when it was re-released in 1988. Bangaarada Manushya is an iconic all-time classic in Kannada Cinema, according to many movie buffs.
Puneeth Rajkumar, affectionately known as Appu, was an Indian film actor, playback singer, film producer, television presenter and philanthropist who worked in Kannada cinema. He was the youngest son of legendary 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.
Singanalluru Puttaswamaiah Muthuraj, better known by his stage name Dr. Rajkumar, was an Indian actor and singer who worked in Kannada cinema. Through his over five-decade long career of over 200 films, he was regarded one of the most pivotal and influential figures of the Kannada film industry. His films were praised for acting as a bridge between the popular and art films because of the theme of the story and their treatment. He debuted as a child actor in the 1942 Kannada film Bhakta Prahlada. His first role as an adult came in Sri Srinivasa Kalyana (1952) and as a lead, two years later, in Bedara Kannappa, which gave him stardom. He debuted as a singer with the track Om Namaha Shivaya from the 1956 film Ohileshwara. In 1960, he made his debut as a producer by producing Ranadheera Kanteerava. According to Ashish Rajadhyaksha and Paul Willemen in the book Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema, Ranadheera Kanteerava was the first "big hit" in Kannada cinema. In a film career spanning fifty years, Rajkumar received eleven Karnataka State Film Awards, including nine Best Actor and two Best Singer awards, eight Filmfare Awards South, and one National Film Award. Along with Vishnuvardhan and Ambareesh, he is counted in Kannada cinema's "triumvirate" as its most celebrated actor.
Rajan–Nagendra were an Indian musical duo who were prominent composers of film music in Kannada and Telugu cinema from the late 1950s to the early 1990s. Rajan, along with his brother Nagendra, created a niche for themselves for nearly four decades. The duo scored music for about 375 films, over 200 of them in Kannada and the remainder in other languages like Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Tulu, Hindi and Sinhala. They composed innumerable hits, hundreds of melodious tunes in their career spanning four decades. They also hold the record for the longest active musical pair in the industry.
Kalpana, born Sharat Lata, was an Indian actress who appeared in Kannada films. She was affectionately referred to as Minugu Taare among the film fraternity. She was widely recognised as one of the greatest actresses of Kannada cinema who enjoyed both fan following and critical acclaim. She made her screen debut as a lead actress in the 1963 release Saaku Magalu directed by veteran B. R. Panthulu. During a career that spanned from the early 1960s to the late 1970s, Kalpana appeared in numerous commercially successful as well as critically appreciated films, many of which featured her alongside actor Rajkumar. She worked in a few Tamil, Tulu and Malayalam films as well. Many of her successful films were female-centric, giving ample scope for her performance.
Nanjundi Kalyana is a 1989 Indian Kannada-language romantic comedy film, directed by M. S. Rajashekar, starring newcomers Raghavendra Rajkumar and Malashri, with Girija Lokesh and Sundar Krishna Urs as the lead cast. The film was a major blockbuster of the year and was one among the biggest grossing Kannada films of 1989. The movie saw a theatrical run of 90 weeks.
B. Vijaya Reddy, better known as Vijay Reddy or Vijay, was an Indian film director who worked primarily in Kannada films, besides few Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films. He had directed over 50 films and also produced a few. His debut directorial venture was Rangamahal Rahasya (1970). He was known for his collaborations with leading Kannada actor Rajkumar for movies like Gandhada Gudi (1973), Mayura (1975), Naa Ninna Mareyalare (1976) and Sanaadi Appanna (1977) which are considered among the classic movies of Kannada cinema.
Mythri (transl. Alliance) is a 2015 Indian Kannada-language social drama film written and directed by 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 and Atul Kulkarni in substantial roles. Ilaiyaraaja scored the music for the film and Krishna Kumar handled the cinematography. The film is a social drama, and also focuses on relationships in the time of liberalisation.
Abba Aa Hudugi is a 1959 Indian Kannada-language film written, directed and produced by H. L. N. Sinha based on his own play of the same name. It stars Rajashankar in his debut role, Rajkumar in an extended cameo along with Narasimharaju, Mynavathi and Pandari Bai. It is considered a landmark film in Kannada cinema. Critics have noted that the theme of the movie is loosely based on William Shakespeare 's The Taming of the Shrew. The film was dubbed in Tamil with the title Mangaikku Maangalyame Pradhaanam and was released in 1960. Dialogues were written by S. A. Subbaraman. Jeevan composed the music; while Puratchidasan wrote the lyrics. In short, this film also marked the only Kannada film for Malayalam actress Sukumari.
Shankar Guru is a 1978 Indian Kannada-language action thriller film directed by V. Somashekhar and produced by Parvathamma Rajkumar under Dakshayini Combines. It stars Dr. Rajkumar in triple role, alongside Jayamala, Padmapriya, Kanchana, Balakrishna, Vajramuni, Thoogudeepa Srinivas and Uma Shivakumar. The music was composed by Upendra Kumar, while the cinematography and editing were handled by R. Madhusudan and P. Bhaktavatsalam.
Yaarivanu is a 1984 Indian Kannada-language thriller film, directed by Dorai–Bhagavan and produced by Parvathamma Rajkumar. The film stars Rajkumar, Srinath, B. Saroja Devi, Roopa Devi, Hema Choudhary and Puneeth Rajkumar. The screenplay, dialogues and lyrics were written by Chi. Udaya Shankar and story was by M. D. Sundar. Master Lohith played a double role in the movie, though both roles never appear together onscreen. It was his second dual role movie after the 1983 movie Eradu Nakshatragalu.
S. Shivaram, popularly known simply as Shivaram or Shivaramanna, was an Indian actor, producer and director whose Kannada cinema career has spanned six decades. He has played roles including lead hero performances, character roles, comedic roles, as well as supporting parts. He teamed up with his elder brother, S. Ramanathan and produced several films under the name Rashi Brothers apart from directing Hrudaya Sangama in 1972. They together produced movies directed by Puttanna Kanagal like Gejje Pooje and Upasane. They also produced Dr. Rajkumar 's 175th movie Nanobba Kalla and the Tamil movie Dharma Durai starring Rajinikanth which was a remake of the 1989 Kannada movie Deva. The brothers together produced few Bollywood films as well including the 1985 movie Geraftaar which is known to be the only Indian movie to star three stalwarts - Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth - in a single movie. As an actor, Shivaram has the distinction of working with many stalwart directors out of which his association with Puttanna Kanagal is much remembered. He has acted in all the seven Kannada movies directed by Singeetam Srinivasa Rao starring Rajkumar.
Killing Veerappan is a 2016 Indian Kannada-language biographical crime film directed by Ram Gopal Varma, who co-wrote the film with K. Balaji. The film is based on the events leading to Operation Cocoon to capture or kill Indian bandit Veerappan. Featuring Shiva Rajkumar in the central role touted to be based on N. K. Senthamarai Kannan, the then Superintendent of police, with the Indian Special Task Force, and the spy who masterminded Operation Cocoon.
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.
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. R. Sarathkumar, Ananth Nag, Prakash Raj, Chikkanna, Sadhu Kokila, Achyuth Kumar and Avinash play supporting roles. The film's music album was composed by V. Harikrishna.
PRK Productions is an Indian film production company founded by Puneeth Rajkumar and managed by his wife, Ashwini Puneeth Rajkumar.
Gandhada Gudi is a 2022 Indian Kannada-language docudrama film directed by Amoghavarsha JS. It stars himself and Puneeth Rajkumar in lead roles. The film features the final appearance of actor Puneeth Rajkumar. The film released on 28 October 2022.
