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. The 1934 film Sati Sulochana directed by Y. V. Rao was the first talkie film in the Kannada language. It was also the first film starring Subbaiah Naidu and Tripuramba, and was the first motion picture screened in the erstwhile Mysore Kingdom. The film was produced by Chamanlal Doongaji, who in 1932 founded South India Movietone in Bangalore.
Shubraveshti Ramaswamiah Seetharama Sharma, known popularly as S. R. Puttanna Kanagal, was an Indian filmmaker known for his work in Kannada cinema. He is often considered one of Kannada cinema's most influential filmmakers.
Yaragudipadi Venkata Mahalakshmi, known professionally as Lakshmi, is an Indian actress known for her works primarily in the South Indian film industry. She has also acted in some Hindi films. Her debut as a full fledged actress happened with the Tamil film Jeevanaamsam in 1968. In the same year, she acted in the Kannada film Goa Dalli CID 999 and Telugu film Bandhavyalu.
Veeraswamy Ravichandran is an Indian actor, director, producer, music director, lyricist and editor in the Kannada Film Industry. He is the son of film producer N. Veeraswamy. As producer, Ravichandran continues to run his father's production house, Sri Eswari Productions. He is popularly known as "Crazy Star", a title fans have prefixed to his name. He is famous for bringing innovations to Kannada film industry beginning with Premaloka (1987).
Karnataka State Film Awards are the most notable and prestigious film awards given for Kannada film industry in Karnataka, India. These are considered the highest awards for Kannada language films. They are given annually by the Government of Karnataka to honor the best talent and to provide encouragement and incentive to the Kannada film industry.
Colors Kannada, is an Indian general entertainment channel, owned by Viacom18 that primarily broadcasts Kannada language entertainment shows. This channel is currently available in India and the United States. On the success of this channel, another channel named Colors Super, which is also a general entertainment channel, was launched on 24 July 2016. In December 2020, Colors Kannada celebrated its 20th anniversary.
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.
