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.
Suresh Krissna is an Indian film director who has directed Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi Language films. His first independent film as a director was Sathya (1988), with Kamal Haasan. He is well known for having directed Rajinikanth in four films which include, Annamalai (1992), Veera (1994), Baashha (1995) and Baba (2002). In the 1990s, he has also directed other major superstars including Chiranjeevi, Salman Khan and Kamal Hassan and Mohanlal.
Aahaa..! (transl. Wow..!) is a 1997 Indian Tamil-language film directed by Suresh Krissna, starring Rajiv Krishna and Sulekha. The film was a decent hit among Diwali releases and ran for 100 days. The film depicts a typical Brahmin family. It was remade in Telugu under the same title (1998) and in Kannada as Ghauttham (2009).
The Prince is a 1996 Indian Malayalam-language gangster film scripted and directed by Suresh Krissna, starring Mohanlal and Prema. Dialogues were written by T. A. Razzaq. The film marked the accomplished Tamil director, Krishna's debut in Malayalam cinema and also Prakash Raj’s Malayalam debut. The music was scored by Deva. The film was dubbed and released in Tamil as Mahaan.
Mathond Madhuvena is a 2011 Kannada film in the comedy genre starring Anant Nag, Suhasini Maniratnam and Naveen Krishna in the lead roles. The film is a sequel to the 2010 hit film Eradane Maduve. The film has been directed and written by Dinesh Baboo and produced by Umesh Banakar and Anil Menasinakayi. Giridhar has composed the music.
Oruvan is a 1999 Indian Tamil-language action drama film directed by Suresh Krissna. The film stars Sarathkumar, Pooja Batra and Devayani, while Raghuvaran and Anandaraj play supporting roles. Produced by Lakshmi Movie Makers, the film had cinematography handled by S. Saravanan and music composed by Deva. It was released on 25 June 1999.
Yajamana is a 2000 Indian Kannada-language film directed by R. Sheshadri and Radha Bharathi. The film is a remake of Tamil film Vaanathaippola which released at the beginning of same year. The movie became an Industry hit by creating many records. The film stars Dr.Vishnuvardhan, Prema, Shashikumar and Abhijeeth.
Diggajaru is a 2001 Indian Kannada-language film directed by D. Rajendra Babu. The film stars Vishnuvardhan in dual roles as a father and son and Ambareesh. The music of the film was composed by Hamsalekha. It is a remake of the 1998 Tamil film Natpukkaga.
Simhadriya Simha is a 2002 Indian Kannada-language action drama film directed by S. Narayan. The film stars Vishnuvardhan, Meena and Bhanupriya. The music of the film was composed by Deva. The film was a remake of the 1994 Tamil film Nattamai. Vishnuvardhan played triple role in this movie.
Jyeshta is a 2004 Indian Kannada-language drama film starring Vishnuvardhan, Ashima Bhalla and Devaraj. The film is a remake of Malayalam film Valliettan (2000), is directed and written by director Suresh Krissna and features soundtrack from S. A. Rajkumar. The original version was directed by Shaji Kailas and featured Mammootty and Shobhana in lead roles.
Kotigobba is a 2001 Indian Kannada-language action film starring Vishnuvardhan, Priyanka Upendra and Ashish Vidyarthi. The film was a remake of Rajinikanth's 1995 Tamil film Baashha which itself was inspired from the 1991 Hindi movie Hum. This movie was directed by Naganna and features soundtrack from Deva who also composed the music for the Tamil version. Vishnuvardhan was nominated for Filmfare Best Actor category.
Soorappa is a 2000 Indian Kannada-language action drama film directed by Naganna and produced by Super Hit Films. The film stars Vishnuvardhan in his 175th film along with Charan Raj, Shruti and Anu Prabhakar in prominent roles. The film had a musical score and soundtrack composed and written by Hamsalekha.
Ranna is a 2015 Indian Kannada-language action comedy film directed by Nanda Kishore. The film features an ensemble cast including Kichcha Sudeepa, Prakash Raj, Rachita Ram, Haripriya, Madhoo, Devaraj, Avinash, Sharath Lohitashwa, and Sadhu Kokila. It is an official remake of the 2013 Telugu film Attarintiki Daredi.
Jwala (transl. Volcano) is a 1985 Indian Telugu-language film, directed by Ravi Raja Pinisetty. The film stars Chiranjeevi in a dual role, Radhika, Bhanupriya and Kannada Prabhakar. The film's score was composed by Ilaiyaraaja. The film was dubbed in Malayalam as Prathikara Jwala. The film was remade in Kannada in 1987 as Sathyam Shivam Sundaram starring Vishnuvardhan in triple roles unlike this movie.
Rasika is a 1994 Indian Kannada language romantic drama film written and directed by Dwarakish and produced by Rockline Venkatesh. The film stars V. Ravichandran along with Bhanupriya and Shruti among others. It is a remake of the Tamil movie Senthamizh Pattu directed by P. Vasu. The movie was dubbed in Tamil as Amma En Deivam and marked Bhanupriya's Kannada debut.
Nanendu Nimmavane is a 1993 Indian Kannada film, directed by H. S. Phani Ramachandra and produced by Dashami Technicians. The film stars Vishnuvardhan, Srishanthi, Ramesh Bhat and Vinaya Prasad in the lead roles. The film has musical score by Rajan–Nagendra.
Shrirasthu Shubhamasthu is a 2000 Indian Kannada-language romantic drama film directed by Seetharam Karanth and produced by N. K. Prakash Babu. The film stars Ramesh Aravind, Anu Prabhakar along with Naveen Krishna and Srinivasa Murthy in other prominent roles. The film had a musical score and soundtrack composed and written by K. Kalyan.
Game is a 2016 Indian mystery thriller film directed by A. M. R. Ramesh. Shot as a bilingual in Kannada and Tamil languages, the latter as Oru Melliya Kodu, it is a remake of the 2012 Spanish film The Body. It features Arjun Sarja, Shaam and Manisha Koirala in the lead roles. With music composed by Ilayaraaja, the Kannada version released first on 26 February 2016 while the Tamil version released on July 1, 2016.
Lodde is a 2015 Indian Kannada-language romantic comedy film directed by S. V. Suresh Raj and written by Shrinath. It stars Komal Kumar and Akanksha Puri. The film is produced by Manjunath. The music is composed by Charan Banzo, who had worked in Telugu films under the name Chinni Charan. The film marks the Kannada debut for the lead actress Akanksha Puri. The principal photography of the film began in 2013 and took a long period to complete.
Sangharsha (transl. Struggle) is a 1993 Indian Kannada-language action thriller film written and directed by Sunil Kumar Desai, and produced by Krishna Raju. The film stars Vishnuvardhan, Shivaranjini and Geetha. The film's music is scored by Guna Singh whilst the cinematography is by P. Rajan. The film was dubbed in Tamil as Veera Muzhakkam.
