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. Kannada cinema is based in Gandhi Nagar, Bangalore. The 1934 film Sati Sulochana directed by Y. V. Rao was the first talkie film released in the Kannada language. It was also the first film starring Subbaiah Naidu and Tripuramba, and the first screened in the erstwhile Mysore Kingdom. It 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 Dalit 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 actress, filmmaker and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss Earth India and represented India 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.
Ganesan Subbiah, popularly known as Susi Ganesan, is an Indian film director, producer, scriptwriter and screenwriter.
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.
Pa. Ranjith is an Indian film director, screenwriter and film producer 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.
Semmalar Annam is an Indian actress who works in Tamil-language films. She has also directed and acted in more than fifteen short films during her studies at college. After making her feature film debut with Ammani (2016) directed by Lakshmy Ramakrishnan, she went on to star in films such as Maadathy (2019), Sennai (2021) and the Malayalam film Mmmmm (2021).
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 Pankaj Razdan under the Eros International and Rising Star Entertainment banners. It features Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Valentina Corti, and Francesco Apolloni in lead roles. It also includes a supporting cast of Vineet Kumar, Andrea Scarduzio, Ciera Foster, and Priyansh Jora.
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.
