Upendra is an Indian actor, filmmaker, producer, screenwriter and politician who worked primarily in Kannada films. He has also worked in a few Telugu films. Upendra was known for his thematic representation of Indian politics and society in his films. In 2017, He joined the political party Karnataka Pragnyavanta Janata Paksha, before quitting the party in 2018 due to internal differences and formed another party named Uttama Prajaakeeya Party (UPP), which was based on the principles of Prajakiya. He received an Honorary Doctorate from Angkor University in 2015.
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.
Apthamitra is a 2004 Indian Kannada-language horror film directed by P. Vasu and produced by Dwarakish. It stars Vishnuvardhan, Soundarya and Ramesh Arvind in the lead roles, while Prema, Dwarakish and Avinash appear in supporting roles. The film is a remake of Malayalam film Manichithrathazhu with some plot changes. The film was released on 27 August 2004 on Varalakshmi festival to positive reviews.
Anant Nagarkatte is an Indian actor whose predominant contribution has been in Kannada cinema. He has acted in over 300 films which include over 200 Kannada films as well as Hindi, Telugu, Marathi, Malayalam and English films. He has featured in theatre plays, parallel cinema and television shows.
Vitla Manohar is an Indian music director, lyricist, film director and actor in Kannada and Tulu movies. He has scored music to several Kannada and Tulu films. He has written lyrics to more than 1000 songs in Kannada cinema.
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.
Neravanda Chetticha Prema is an Indian actress known for her work predominantly in Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, and a few Tamil language films. Who ruled Kannada industry in the 90s and early 20s and she has appeared in many commercially successful feature films. She was a leading Kannada actress at the turn of the century and has received the Karnataka State Film Award and Filmfare Best Actress awards for her performances in Kannada films. She has featured in Om and Yajamana, which are the two major blockbuster and highest-grossing films of their time in Kannada cinema. After an eight-year hiatus, she returned to films with Upendra Matte Baa in 2017.
Jayashree, known by her screen name Sudha Rani, is an Indian actress, voice artist and former model. She has primarily worked in Kannada films. She also acted in a few Telugu, Tulu and Malayalam films in about 150 films.
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.
The Filmfare Best Actress Award is given by the Filmfare magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards South for Kannada films (Sandalwood). The awards were extended to "Best Actress" in 1972. The year indicates the year of release of the film.
Shruthi Chandrasena, known professionally as Hariprriya, is an Indian actress and model who chiefly works in Kannada films, in addition to a few Telugu and Tamil films.
Upendra is a 1999 Indian Kannada-language thriller film written and directed by Upendra. It stars Upendra, Raveena Tandon, Prema and Damini. It is an allegorical film, which explores three human emotions through the relationship between the main character and the three heroines. The lyrics were written by Upendra and music was composed by Gurukiran. The film developed a cult fanbase, and is said that the director named it as Upendra with the thought that the name includes the names of the main characters of the film.
Omkara is a 2004 Indian Kannada-language crime thriller film starring Upendra and Preeti Jhangiani. The film was written and directed by Shivamani and produced by Company Films under the banner of R. S. Productions and has music by Gurukiran. Omkara was Upendra's first gangster film and was based on the connection between film industries and the Mumbai underworld mafia. The film got an all-time record opening in its first week however became an above average grosser.
Banna Bannada Loka is a 2011 Indian Kannada-language romance film written and directed by Ram Prasad. The film will star Ram Prasad and Shravani along with Rangayana Raghu and Rekha. The story of the film revolves around a youngster from a Mangalore-based Kannada family. The happy-go-lucky man's life undergoes a sudden turn. The decisions he takes after that is the rest of the story. The film is produced by Krishnappa and features background score and soundtrack composed by Thomas Rathnam with cinematography handled by Chandra Sekar. The film, which commenced production in 2009 and released on 2011.
Anuradha Bhat is an Indian playback singer who predominantly works in Kannada language films. She has sung over 100 songs for feature films and also sung in various private musical albums.
Brahma is a 2014 Indian Kannada historical action drama film written and directed by R. Chandru, and produced by Manjunath Babu. The film was dubbed into Telugu. The film stars Upendra playing dual roles though both the roles never appear together onscreen. It also stars Pranitha Subhash and Sara Sharma, while actors Nassar, Rahul Dev, and Shayaji Shinde play other prominent roles. The film spanning four generations, from the 16th to the 21st century features an original soundtrack album by Gurukiran.
Rakshit Shetty is an Indian actor and filmmaker working predominantly in Kannada cinema. He is the recipient of one National Film Award, two Filmfare Awards South, two Karnataka State Film Awards and five SIIMA Awards. He debuted with the film Namm Areal Ond Dina (2010) and got his breakthrough in the cult Blockbuster Ulidavaru Kandanthe (2014) and further established himself as a lead actor in Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu (2015), Kirik Party (2016), Avane Srimannarayana (2019), 777 Charlie (2021), and Sapta Saagaradaache Ello – Side A (2023), with 777 Charlie becoming the highest-grossing film of his career.
Chitra (transl. Picture) is a 2001 Indian Kannada-language romantic drama film directed by Dinesh Babu and produced by Ramoji Rao. A remake of the Telugu film Chitram (2000), directed by Teja, the film stars Prasad and newcomer Rekha Vedavyas with Ananth Nag in a supporting role. The film had musical score by Gurukiran, which was well received. The film, upon release, was well received and declared a silver jubilee at the box office.
V. Nagendra Prasad is a lyricist, composer and director who predominantly works for Kannada cinema. He has penned more than 3000 songs, particularly for Kannada cinema.
Ravi Basrur is an Indian music composer, sound designer, lyricist and director who mostly works in the Kannada film industry and is known for his collaborations with director Prashant Neel, with whom he debuted in Ugramm. He also works as a film director, having directed the films Gargar Mandala and Girmit.
