Babukodi Venkataramana Karanth widely known as B. V. Karanth was an Indian film director, playwright, actor, screenwriter, composer, and dramatist known for his works in the Kannada theatre, Kannada cinema, and Hindi cinema. One of the pioneers of the Parallel Cinema, Karanth was an alumnus of the National School of Drama (1962) and later, its Director. He received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1976), six National Film Awards, and the civilian honor Padma Shri for his contributions towards the field of art.
Mahakavi Kalidasa is 1955 Indian Kannada-language film directed by K. R. Seetharama Sastry, in his debut direction. The movie is based on the legends of the poet Kālidāsa. It stars Honnappa Bhagavatar as Kālidāsa, a Sanskrit poet who lived during the 4th and 5th Century CE. It tells the story of how he, an aristocratic young man cursed by his guru with ignorance, goes on to become a great poet. B. Raghavendra Rao, Narasimharaju and B. Saroja Devi features supporting roles. It was remade in Telugu in 1960 as Mahakavi Kalidasu starring Akkineni Nageswara Rao in Tamil in 1966 as Mahakavi Kalidas starring Sivaji Ganesan. This Kannada film was dubbed into Tamil and released in 1956 as Mahakavi Kalidas. At the 3rd National Film Awards, the film won the award for Best Feature Film in Kannada. The film is seen as a landmark in Kannada cinema.
Ganapathi Venkataramana Iyer was an Indian film director and actor. He was nicknamed "Kannada Bheeshma". His film Adi Shankaracharya (1983) won four National Film Award, including Best Film, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography and Best Audiography. His film Swami Vivekananda (1998) was nominated in the Best Film category at the Bogotá Film Festival, for which Mithun Chakraborty won the national award for Best Supporting Actor.
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.
Gubbi Hampanna Veeranna was an Indian theatre director. He was one of the pioneers and most prolific contributors to Kannada theatre. He established the drama company, Gubbi Sree Channabasaveshwara Nataka Company, which played a crucial role in promoting the Kannada theatre field. He has been conferred the title Nataka Ratna meaning "A Precious Jewel" in the theatre world. Gubbi Veeranna laid the foundation stone for the Kannada film industry. He established a studio, produced silent films in early days of cinema and produced good Kannada short films, He built theaters and introduced many actors including Dr Rajkumar, G.V Iyer, B.V Karanth, Girish Karnad and others to the Kannada film industry.
Kalidas is a 1931 Indian Tamil- and Telugu-language biographical film directed by H. M. Reddy and produced by Ardeshir Irani. It is notable for being the first sound film in the Tamil and Telugu languages, and the first sound film to be made in a language from South India. It was based on the life of the Sanskrit poet Kalidasa; it featured P. G. Venkatesan in the title role and T. P. Rajalakshmi as the female lead, with L. V. Prasad, Thevaram Rajambal, T. Susheela Devi, J. Sushila, and M. S. Santhanalakshmi in supporting roles.
Chittajallu Srinivasa Rao was an Indian actor, writer and director. He was the son of film director Chittajallu Pullayya. He directed around 65 films in the Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Oriya languages. He garnered two National Film Awards for directing the films Lava Kusa (1963) and Desamante Manushuloyi (1970). Directors including Muktha V. Srinivasan and K. S. Sethu Madhavan worked as his assistants.
Chowdasandra Honnappa Bhagavathar was an Indian theatre and film actor, producer, musician and singer. He was best known as a singer and as one of the pioneers of Kannada cinema. He was also active in Tamil cinema. Bhagvathar is known for bringing actress Saroja Devi into the industry. His son Bharath was also an actor who worked in Kannada films and serials.
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 later it became more nuanced villainous characters, often counterpointing Rajkumar's heroic persona in historicals and mythologicals.
Ramajogayya Sastry is an Indian film lyricist, known for his works in Telugu cinema and music.
Preetham Gubbi is an Indian film screenwriter turned director who works in Kannada film industry. He made his debut as a script writer for the blockbuster Kannada film Mungaru Male in 2006. He debuted as a director with the film Haage Summane in 2009.
Gunasagari is a 1953 Indian Kannada-language film directed by H. L. N. Simha and produced by AVM Productions. It stars Gubbi Veeranna, Honnappa Bhagavathar and Pandari Bai. The music was composed by R. Sudarshanam. The film was released in Tamil as Sathya Sodhanai. Malayalam actor Prem Nazir had a small role in this film which was his only Kannada film appearance. Rajasulochana made her debut with this film.
Samshaya Phala is a 1971 Indian Kannada language romantic drama film written, produced and directed by A. M. Sameullah under the banner of Bawa Movies. It starred Udaya Kumar along with Srinath and Jayanthi in the lead roles. It had a very successful soundtrack composed by the veteran Hindi music composer Salil Chowdhary.
Hunsur Krishnamurthy was an Indian playwright, film director, producer, actor, screenwriter and lyricist in Kannada cinema.
Hemareddy Mallamma is a 1946 Indian Kannada-language film, directed by S. Soundarya Rajan and produced by Gubbi Veeranna. The film stars B. Jayamma, Honnappa Bhagavathar, Veeranna and C. B. Mallappa. The film has musical score by V. Nagayya.
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.
Jeevana Nataka is a 1943 Indian Kannada film directed by Wahab Kashmiri, based on a play of the same name written by A. N. Krishna Rao. The film was produced by Gubbi Veeranna, his first as an independent producer. Veeranna also appeared in a lead role in the film alongside debutante Kemparaj Urs, Shanta Hublikar and B. Jayamma.
Shivaprakash, known by his screen name Shani Mahadevappa, was an Indian actor who worked in Kannada cinema.
D. Kemaparaj Urs was an Indian freedom fighter, actor, director and producer who worked mainly in the Kannada film industry. His movies in 1940s and 1950s created an impact on the audience. Even before Dr. Rajkumar's arrival to the industry, Urs was already an established star. His elder brother D. Devaraj Urs, served as the Chief Minister of Karnataka.
