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.
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.
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.
Bedara Kannappa is a 1954 Indian Kannada-language Hindu mythological film directed by H. L. N. Simha and written by G. V. Iyer. The film stars Rajkumar playing the title character along with Pandari Bai, Kushala Kumari, G. V. Iyer, Sandhya and Narasimharaju in other prominent roles. The film is an adaptation of the stage play Kaalahasti Charitre written by T. N. Balakrishna for the Gubbi Veeranna Nataka Company, which was based on the folk tale of the hunter Kannappa who proves his extreme devotion to the Hindu God Shiva by gouging out both his eyes.
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.
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.
Ondu Muttina Kathe is a 1987 Indian Kannada language film directed by Shankar Nag, starring Rajkumar and Archana. It is based on John Steinbeck's 1947 novella The Pearl. This was the last directorial of Shankar Nag. It is also the only movie in which he directed Rajkumar, making him the youngest person to direct him.
Aakasmika (transl. Unexpected) is a 1993 Indian Kannada language action thriller film directed by T. S. Nagabharana. The film stars Rajkumar, Geetha and Madhavi. The film was based on Ta Ra Su's trilogy Aakasmika – Aparadhi – Parinama thereby becoming the second Kannada movie to be based on three novels, the first being 1973 movie Naagarahaavu which incidentally was based on three novels of the same writer.
Veera Kannadiga is a 2004 Indian Kannada-language masala film directed by debutant Meher Ramesh from a story written by Puri Jagannadh who simultaneously shot the film in Telugu as Andhrawala starring Jr. NTR. The film stars Puneeth Rajkumar and Anita Hassanandani in the lead roles.
Hudugaru is a 2011 Kannada-language drama film directed by K. Madesh, starring Puneeth Rajkumar, Srinagar Kitty, Yogesh and Radhika Pandit in the lead roles. The film, which is a remake of the successful 2010 Tamil film Naadodigal, was produced by Parvathamma Rajkumar, with V. Harikrishna having composed the soundtrack and Satya Hegde was the cinematographer. The film released on 5 May 2011 and performed well at the box office similar to Puneeth's previous film Jackie.
Priyadarshini Ram, also known as Priyadharshi Ram or mononymously as Priyadarshini, is a Singaporean-Indian playback singer who has performed in more than 180 movies in the Tamil, Kannada, Telugu and Hindi cinema industries. She has also sung more than 800 songs for devotional and private albums in 10 languages.
Bommasandra Srinivasaiah Suryanarayana Murthy, known by his screen name Udaykumar, was an Indian actor and producer in Kannada cinema. He, along with Kalyan Kumar and Rajkumar, were called the Kumarathrayaru of Kannada cinema. He has authored many dramas and books. He has performed a broad range of roles and worked with all of the prominent actors of his day. He portrayed heroic characters early in his career and then played more nuanced villainous characters, often countering Rajkumar's heroic persona in historicals and mythologicals.
Hoovu Hannu is a 1993 Indian Kannada-language drama film based on the novel by Triveni of the same name. The film stars Lakshmi, Ajay Gundu Rao, Vyjayanthi and Baby Shamili. It was directed by Rajendra Singh Babu and produced by Vaibhava Lakshmi Productions. The music and lyrics were written and composed by Hamsalekha. The film was a musical hit and won many awards including the Karnataka State Film Awards and Filmfare Awards South. Veteran cinematographer V. K. Murthy worked in this film and won many accolades for his work. The film failed at box-office.
Nooru Janmaku is a 2010 Indian Kannada language romantic drama film written and directed by Nagathihalli Chandrashekar and produced by Vinay Lad. Nagathihalli's usual associate Mano Murthy is the music composer for the film. The film stars newcomer Santhosh along with Aindrita Ray and Adarsh Balakrishna of Iqbal fame. The film deals with the recession as the backdrop. Santosh Rai Pathaje is the cinematographer for the film.
Bhoodana is a 1962 Indian Kannada-language film jointly directed and produced by G. V. Iyer and P.S. Gopalkrishna. The film stars Rajkumar, Kalyan Kumar, Udaykumar and K. S. Ashwath. The film has musical score by G. K. Venkatesh.
Hemanth Subramanya known by his stage name as Hemanth, is a playback singer in Kannada cinema.
Prakash Belawadi is an Indian theatre artist, film director, television and media personality, who's also a teacher, activist and a journalist. He hails from Bangalore. He has participated in many seminars, conferences and festivals in India and abroad. He is a motivational speaker at events and TEDx conferences. He is also a mentor with the founding team of BISFF since 2010.
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.
