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.
Naagarahaavu (transl. Cobra) is a 1972 Indian Kannada-language film directed by Puttanna Kanagal, based on T. R. Subba Rao's three novels Nagarahavu, Ondu Gandu Eradu Hennu and Sarpa Mathsara, and starring Vishnuvardhan, Aarathi, K. S. Ashwath and Shubha. The supporting cast features Leelavathi, M. Jayashree, M. N. Lakshmi Devi, Ambareesh, Shivaram, Dheerendra Gopal, Lokanath and Vajramuni. The film has a musical score by Vijaya Bhaskar. Cinematography was done by Chittibabu.
Sadananda Sagar, better known by his stage name Vajramuni, was an Indian actor who appeared in Kannada films. He portrayed negative characters during most of his career and was considered one of Kannada cinema's finest actors. Over his career, he came to be known for his "thundering voice and sterling performance[s]" that earned him the epithets, Nata Bhairava and Nata Bhayankara.
Galate Samsara is a 1977 Indian Kannada language comedy film directed by C. V. Rajendran and produced by C. Jayaram. It stars Dr.Vishnuvardhan, Manjula and Rajinikanth in the lead roles. It also stars Dwarakish, Dr. K S Ashwath, Balakrishna and Vajramuni in supporting roles. The movie is a remake of Tamil movie Veettuku Veedu which was based on the play Thikku Theriyatha Veettil which in turn was an adaptation of the English comedy play Right Bed Wrong Husband. The English play was also adapted in Marathi as Pati Sagle Uchapati which in turn was adapted into a Kannada movie titled Housefull and also into a Hindi movie - All The Best which was remade in Malayalam as Best of Luck which in turn went on to be remade in Kannada as Ond Chance Kodi.
Bahaddur Gandu is a 1976 Indian Kannada-language swashbuckler film directed by A. V. Sheshagiri Rao, starring Rajkumar, Jayanthi, Aarathi and Vajramuni. The movie saw a theatrical run of 19 weeks. The story was penned by the celebrated playwright H. V. Subba Rao based on William Shakespeare's play The Taming of the Shrew.
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.
Konda Subbarama Das or Doss was an Indian film director and film editor. He directed films in many South Indian language films, primarily Telugu and Kannada films.
M. Ranga Rao was a prominent Indian composer who predominantly worked in Kannada cinema. Rao was known for his mellifluous scores and lilting tunes backed with strong classical nuances. "Ranga Rao" composed tunes for approximately 100 films in Kannada cinema.
Sathyam Shivam Sundaram is a 1987 Indian Kannada-language film directed by K. S. R. Das and produced by G. R. K. Raju. The film stars Vishnuvardhan, Radhika, Sumithra and Vajramuni. The film has musical score by K. Chakravarthy. The movie is a remake of 1985 Telugu movie Jwala. However, while the hero played dual role in the original, Vishnuvardhan played a triple role including the father's role.
Sneha Sedu is a 1978 Indian Kannada-language film directed by V. Madhusudhana Rao starring Vishnuvardhan, Ambareesh, Manjula and Anupama Mohan. The supporting cast features Vajramuni, Narasimharaju, Balakrishna and Chindodi Leela. The movie was remade in Malayalam in 1979 as Angakkuri starring Jayan, Sukumaran, Jayabharathi and Seema.
Jayasimha is a 1987 Indian Kannada-language film, directed by P. Vasu and produced by K. C. N. Chandrashekhar and K. C. N. Mohan. The film stars Vishnuvardhan, Mahalakshmi, Vajramuni and N. S. Rao. The film has musical score by Vijay Anand.
Digvijaya is a 1987 Indian Kannada film, directed by Somu and produced by Geetha Srinath, Somu, and M. S. Karanth. The film stars Ambareesh, Srinath, Shankar Nag, and Ambika. The film has a musical score by Hamsalekha.
Veeradhi Veera is a 1985 Indian Kannada-language film, directed by Vijay and produced by N. N. Bhat. The film stars Vishnuvardhan, Geetha, Vajramuni and Sudheer. The film has musical score by M. Ranga Rao. This was the last film of Musuri Krishnamurthy before his death.
Shreemanthana Magalu or Shrimanthana Magalu is a 1977 Kannada film, directed by A. V. Sheshagiri Rao, starring actors Vishnuvardhan and Jayanthi.
Shani Prabhava is a 1977 black and white Kannada film directed by Ratnakar-Madhu and starring actors Vishnuvardhan and Bhavani.
Karna is a 1986 Indian Kannada-language film, directed by H. R. Bhargava and produced by B. Anuradha Singh, R. Dushyanth Singh and R. Amritha Singh. The film stars Vishnuvardhan, Sumalatha, K. S. Ashwath and Sumithra. The film has musical score by M. Ranga Rao. The film was a remake of the 1981 Bengali film Saaheb which was earlier remade in Hindi as Saaheb.
Maga Mommaga is a 1974 Indian Kannada-language film, directed by Y. R. Swamy and produced by R. Panduranga Naidu and D. R. Raghavendra Naidu. The film stars Dwarakish, K. S. Ashwath, Vajramuni and Balakrishna in the lead roles. The film has musical score by M. Ranga Rao. The film was a remake of the Telugu film Tata Manavadu.
December 31 is a 1988 Indian Kannada-language film, directed by Manobala, in his only Kannada film. The film stars Vishnuvardhan, Urvashi, Jai Jagadish and Sulakshana.
Belliyappa Bangarappa is a 1992 Indian Kannada-language comedy drama film directed by Poorna Pragnya, written by Singeetham Srinivasa Rao and produced by Madhu Bangarappa. The film stars Kumar Bangarappa and Amala, whilst a large number of popular actors including Vishnuvardhan, Shiva Rajkumar, V. Ravichandran, Tiger Prabhakar, Malashri and Sudharani appear in guest roles as themselves. Kumar Bangarappa played a dual role for the only time in his career. The film's music was composed by S. P. Balasubrahmanyam and cinematographer is B. C. Gowrishankar.
