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.
Sakshatkara is a 1971 Kannada drama film directed by Puttanna Kanagal and starring Dr. Rajkumar, Jamuna, Prithviraj Kapoor and R. Nagendra Rao in the lead roles. This was third and final collaboration of Puttanna Kanagal and Rajkumar. Sundar Krishna Urs was the associate director of the movie.
Sharapanjara is a 1971 Indian Kannada language film directed by Puttanna Kanagal, based on a novel by Triveni of the same name, and starring Kalpana and Gangadhar in lead roles. This film is considered one of the best Kannada movies ever made. Triveni's novel was richly visual and Puttanna not only stayed faithful to the novel on screen but also retained most of the novel's dialogues and credited Triveni for them.
Vijaya Bhaskar was an Indian music director and composer who composed music for several mainstream and experimental feature films in the Kannada film industry. Scoring music for over 600 feature films, Bhaskar worked in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi, Tulu and Konkani language films as well. He was a part of all films of director KSL Swamy (Ravi) and also shared a great association with acclaimed directors Puttanna Kanagal and Adoor Gopalakrishnan.
Lakshman Rao Mohite, better known by his pen-name Geethapriya, was an Indian film director and lyricist of the Kannada film industry. He has directed 40 films and penned over 250 songs in Kannada films. In 1992–93, he was awarded the Puttanna Kanagal Award for his contribution to Kannada cinema as a director.
Gaali Gopura is a 1962 Kannada-language film directed and produced by B. R. Panthulu. The film starred Rajkumar, Kalyan Kumar, Leelavathi and R. Nagendra Rao. Actor Udaya Kumar made a brief guest appearance. Acclaimed director Puttanna Kanagal had assisted Panthulu for this film.
Rattihalli Nagendra Rao was an Indian theatre actor, film actor and director in South Indian cinema. Following his career in theatre, Rao turned to film a where he became an actor, director, producer, screenwriter and occasional composer. He is considered one of the most influential personalities in the history of South Indian cinema.
Hannele Chiguridaga is a 1968 Indian Kannada-language film directed by M. R. Vittal and produced by Srikanth Enterprises. The film stars Rajkumar, R. Nagendra Rao and Kalpana. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Triveni and deals with the empowerment of women in education and also issues around widow marriage.
Naa Ninna Mareyalare is a 1976 Indian Kannada-language film directed by Vijay and produced by N. Veeraswamy. The film is based on the story Naanu Neenu Jodi by A. R. Anand. The film stars Rajkumar and Lakshmi. The Rajan–Nagendra duo scored and composed the film's soundtrack.
Naandi is a 1964 Kannada romantic drama film directed and written by N. Lakshminarayan, making his first venture in film direction. The film was produced by actor Vadiraj and Jawahar for Sri Bharathi Chitra studio house. The film starred Dr. Rajkumar and Harini along with Kalpana and Udaykumar playing guest roles. Actor Dinesh made his debut through this film in a supporting role.
Saaku Magalu is a 1963 Kannada language romantic drama film directed and produced by B. R. Panthulu and starring Rajkumar and Sowcar Janaki. The film marked the entry of acclaimed actress Kalpana, who went on to become one of the most sought-after actresses in Kannada cinema.
Sri Krishnadevaraya is a 1970 Indian historical drama film in the Kannada language, produced and directed by B. R. Panthulu. It stars Rajkumar as Krishnadevaraya, an emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire in the 16th century. R. Nagendra Rao, B. R. Panthulu, Narasimharaju and N. Bharathi appear in pivotal roles. The film was Rajkumar's first in color.
Mantralaya Mahatme is a 1966 Indian Kannada-language film directed by T. V. Singh Thakur, based on the book Sri Raghavendra Vijaya written by Rajaguru Rajacharya, and stars Rajkumar in the role of Raghavendra Swami, a Hindu saint who lived in the 17th century India. Udaykumar, Jayanthi and Kalpana appear in pivotal roles in the film. Dorai–Bhagavan were extensively involved in the production and direction department of this movie. The film is being colorised in wide-screen and set to release in 2022.
Upasane is a 1974 Kannada musical drama film, directed by Puttanna Kanagal. The film produced by Rashi brothers, is based on the novel of the same name, written by Devaki Murthy. The film mostly had women playing the lead roles, consisting of Aarathi, Leelavathi, M. N. Lakshmi Devi, G. V. Sharadha and Advani Lakshmi Devi. Dr. Govinda Mannur, K. S. Ashwath and Seetharam played the male supporting roles. Actor Seetharam was colloquially named as "Upasane" Seetharam for the rest of his career after the release of this film.
Kula Gourava is a 1971 Indian Kannada language romantic drama film directed by Peketi Sivaram and written by G. Balasubramanyam. It stars Rajkumar in triple roles along with Bharathi and Jayanthi. The film was produced under Sri Eswari Productions of N. Veeraswamy. It had a very successful soundtrack composed by T. G. Lingappa. Popular actor-director V. Ravichandran, son of the film producer Veerasamy, appeared in the film as a child artist. The film swept 5 awards at the 1970-71 Karnataka State Film Awards including the best film, best actor, and best editor categories.
Bidugade is a 1973 Indian Kannada language drama film directed by Y. R. Swamy and produced by T. P. Venugopal. It starred Rajkumar, Rajesh and Bharathi along with a host of supporting actors. Minugutare Kalpana made a special appearance in the film. M. Ranga Rao scored the music and the story was written and produced by Ramesh Movies. Chi. Udaya Shankar wrote the lyrics and dialogues. The cinematography by Annayya won him the Karnataka State Film Award for Best Cinematographer award.
Emme Thammanna is a 1966 Indian Kannada-language film produced and directed by B. R. Panthulu. It stars Rajkumar, Dikki Madhava Rao, Bharathi Vishnuvardhan. The supporting cast features Narasimharaju, Subbanna, Krishna Shastry, B. R. Panthulu, Papamma, Jaya and M. V. Rajamma. The film was remade in Telugu as Govula Gopanna (1968), in Hindi as Jigri Dost (1969) and in Tamil as Mattukara Velan (1970).
Sri Kanyaka Parameshwari Kathe is a 1966 Indian Kannada-language film, directed and produced by Hunsur Krishnamurthy. The film stars Rajkumar, B. M. Venkatesh, Nagendra Rao and H. R. Shastry. The film has musical score by Rajan–Nagendra. H. R. Bhargava was the associate director of this movie.
Premamayi is a 1966 Indian Kannada-language film, directed by M. R. Vittal and produced by Srikanth Nahatha and Srikanth Patel. The film stars Rajkumar, K. S. Ashwath, Leelavathi and Jayanthi. The film has musical score by R. Sudarshanam. This is the only movie where Leelavathi played the role of Rajkumar's sister-in-law. The movie is an official adaptation of the National Award winning 1964 Malayalam movie Kudumbini.
Dinesh(1937-1990) was an Indian actor in the Kannada film industry. Notably, he acted in Bhootayyana Maga Ayyu (1974), Golmaal Radhakrishna (1990), S. P. Sangliyana Part 2 (1990) and Seetharamu (1979).
