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.
Nandanar, also known as Thirunaallaippovaar and Tirunallaipovar Nayanar, was a Nayanar saint, who is venerated in the Hindu sect of Shaivism. He is the only Paraiyar saint in the Nayanars. He is generally counted as the eighteenth in the list of 63 Nayanars. Like the other Nayanars, he was a devout devotee of the god Shiva.
Niharika Singh is an Indian actress, producer and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss Earth India 2005 and represented her country at Miss Earth 2005. She made her acting debut with the critically acclaimed drama Miss Lovely which competed in Un Certain Regard at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. Niharika was selected for Berlinale Talents in 2016.
Leena Manimekalai is an Indian filmmaker, poet and an actor. Her works include five published poetry anthologies and several films in genres, documentary, fiction and experimental poem films. She has been recognised with participation, mentions and best film awards in many international and national film festivals.
Sengadal is a 2011 Indian Tamil-language independent film written and directed by Leena Manimekalai, who makes her directing debut and stars in the film. Produced by Janaki Sivakumar, the film features cinematography by M. J. Radhakrishnan and editing by Sreekar Prasad. The film was initially banned by the regional centre of the Censor Board, but Appellate Tribunal authorities of the board at New Delhi cleared the film in July 2011 after legal struggle. Sengadal was part of the Indian Panorama at the 42nd International Film Festival of India after the censor board had cleared the film.
Jai Bhim Comrade is a 2011 Indian documentary film directed by Anand Patwardhan. The film begins with a description of police violence in the 1997 Ramabai killings. It goes on to explore various aspects of the lives and politics of Dalit people in Mumbai. The film took 14 years to produce, and was released in 2011 after the conclusion of the court trials that followed the Ramabai incident. The film was widely shown both nationally and internationally, and received an overwhelmingly positive reaction. It has won numerous national and international awards.
Nagraj Popatrao Manjule is an Indian film director, actor, producer, scriptwriter, poet, screenwriter, filmmaker and he works in the Marathi Cinema, best known for his Marathi film Sairat, short-film Pistulya for which he received National Film Award in Non-Feature Film category.
Pa. Ranjith is an Indian film director, producer and screenwriter who primarily works in Tamil cinema. He made his directorial debut with the 2012 romantic comedy Attakathi, before earning unanimously positive reviews for his second film, the political action-drama Madras (2014). He wrote and directed the action-drama films Kabali in 2016 and Kaala in 2018, both starring Rajinikanth.
Masaan is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language independent drama film and starring Richa Chadda and Vicky Kaushal in lead roles. It is Kaushal's debut Hindi film, and is also the directorial debut of Neeraj Ghaywan. It is an Indo-French co-production produced by Drishyam Films, Macassar Productions, Phantom Films, Sikhya Entertainment, Arte France Cinema and Pathé Productions.
Living Smile Vidya, or Smiley, is an Indian actress, assistant director, writer, and trans and Dalit rights activist from Chennai.
Manusangada is a 2017 Indian Tamil-language indie drama film directed by Amshan Kumar. The film is based on a true story about the signaling of the rise of Dalit struggles in contemporary India against long standing human rights violations. The title 'Manusangada' is from Inquilab's poem of the same name and literally means 'We are humans too.'
Aadhaar is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language dramedy film directed by Suman Ghosh. The film is written by Amitosh Nagpal and Suman Ghosh. Amitosh has also written dialogues and lyrics for the film. Produced by Manish Mundra under his banner Drishyam Films, the film stars Vineet Kumar Singh, who is the first one in his village to get his Aadhaar card made. Raghubir Yadav, Saurabh Shukla and Sanjay Mishra appear in supporting roles. The film had its premiere at the 24th Busan International Film Festival under the section 'A Window on Asian Cinema'. It was supposed to be released in India this 5 February 2021, but it was postponed.
The 24th Busan International Film Festival was held from October 3 to October 12, 2019 at the Busan Cinema Center in Busan, South Korea. A total of 299 films from 85 countries were screened at the festival, including 118 world premieres and 27 international premieres.
Roam Rome Mein is a 2019 Indian psychological-drama film directed by Tannishtha Chatterjee, and produced by Eros International, Pankaj Razdan, and Rising Star Entertainment. It features Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Tannishtha Chatterjee and Valentina Corti, Francesco Apolloni in main roles. It also includes a supporting cast of Vineet Kumar, Andrea Scarduzio, Ciera Foster and Priyansh Jora.
Dalit Film and Cultural festival (DALIFF) is an international Film festival dedicated to Dalit-Bahujan cinema. This festival gives platform to content from dalit issues victimised by caste discrimination and often ignored by mainstream. First Dalit Film and Cultural festival was held in New York City in February 2019. Various films by Ambedkarite Dalit artists were screened.The Hollywood Reporter stated that the first Dalit Film Festival victoriously unspooled in New York."
Dalit music or Bahujan music is music created, produced, or inspired by Bahujans and Dalits, people often discriminated against on the basis of caste, including Dalit rock, Bhim rap and Dalit pop as well as the music genres of the Ravidasis, including Chamar pop, Bhim Palana, Bhim geet and Punjabi Ambedkarite music.
Palasa 1978 is a 2020 Indian Telugu-language period action thriller film written and directed by Karuna Kumar in his directorial debut. The film stars Rakshith, Nakshatra, and Raghu Kunche who also composed the music. Prawin Yendamuri and Thiruveer play a supporting roles. The film is set in 1970s in Palasa, a town in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh and revolves around the incidents related to caste discrimination and untouchability. The film was listed in the Film Companion's "Top 7 Telugu films of 2020" chart.
Mmmmm is a Malayalam film directed by Vijeesh Mani and produced by Sohan Roy. The film revolves around honey hunters from the Kurumba tribe. With a decline in honey bee population, there are fewer beehives and the film shows how this impacts their livelihood. The title denotes the sound of buzzing honey bees.
Seththumaan is a 2022 Indian Tamil-language drama film written and directed by Thamizh. The film features Manikkam, Ashwin, Prasanna Balachandran and Savithri, and was released on 27 May 2022.
