Singanalluru Puttaswamaiah Muthuraj, better known by his stage name Dr. Rajkumar, was an Indian actor and singer who worked in Kannada cinema. Regarded as one of the greatest actors in the history of Indian cinema and a versatile actor, he is considered a cultural icon and holds a matinée idol status in the Kannada diaspora, among whom he is popularly called as Nata Saarvabhouma, Bangarada Manushya, Vara Nata, Gaana Gandharva, Rasikara Raja, Kannada Kanteerava and Rajanna/Annavru. He was honoured with Padma Bhushan in 1983 and Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1995. He is the only lead actor to win National Award for singing. His 35 movies have been remade 58 times in 9 languages by 34 actors making him the first actor whose movies were remade more than fifty times and the first actor whose movies were remade in nine languages. He was the first actor in India to enact a role which was based on James Bond in a full-fledged manner. The success of his movie Jedara Bale is credited to have widely inspired a Desi bond genre in other Indian film industries. On the occasion of the "Centenary of Indian Cinema" in April 2013, Forbes included his performance in Bangaarada Manushya on its list of "25 Greatest Acting Performances of Indian Cinema". Upon his death, The New York Times had described him as one of India's most popular movie stars.
Shankar Nagarakatte was an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, and producer known for his work in Kannada-language films and television. A popular cultural icon of Karnataka, Nag is often referred to as Karate King. He directed the teleserial Malgudi Days, based on novelist R. K. Narayan's short stories and acted in some episodes as well. He won two National Film Awards, four Karnataka State Film Awards and two Filmfare Award South.
Anant Nagarkatte is an Indian actor whose predominant contribution has been in Kannada cinema. He has acted in over 300 films which include over 200 Kannada films as well as Hindi, Telugu, Marathi, Malayalam and English films. He has featured in theatre plays, parallel cinema and television shows.
Pallavi Anu Pallavi is a 1983 Indian Kannada-language romantic drama film written and directed by Mani Ratnam in his debut. The film stars Anil Kapoor, Lakshmi, and Kiran Vairale. It revolves around a young man falling in love with a slightly older woman. The music was composed by Ilaiyaraaja, while cinematography was handled by Balu Mahendra. The film is also Kapoor's debut in Kannada cinema.
Narayana Swamy, known by his stage name Srinath, is an Indian actor and film producer who works predominantly in Kannada cinema. He holds the position of vice-president of the Kannada television channel Udaya TV. He is popular for presenting the Game Show, Adarsha Dampatigalu. Srinath has earned the nickname Pranaya Raja meaning 'King of Romance' because of his stupendous success in romantic movies during the 70s. In 2003, he was conferred the ‛Kalaratna’ Award by the Government of Karnataka.
Malgudi Subha is an Indian playback singer. She has recorded songs in Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi. In a career spanning two decades, she sang more than 3000 songs.
The Bombay Sisters, C. Saroja and C. Lalitha (26 August 1938 – 31 January 2023), were an Indian Carnatic music singing duo. They received the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour, in 2020.
Vijay Raghavendra is an Indian actor who appears predominantly in Kannada films. Referred to popularly as "Chinnari Mutha", Vijay is the son of producer S. A. Chinne Gowda and nephew of actor Dr. Rajkumar.
Mahat Raghavendra is an Indian actor who works across Tamil, Telugu and Hindi cinema. He is best known for his supporting roles in the heist thriller film, Mankatha (2011), the action drama, Jilla (2014) and As lead in the Double XL (2022)
Dr.Parvathamma Rajkumar was an Indian film producer and distributor. She was the wife of veteran Kannada actor Dr. Rajkumar. She produced successful films featuring Rajkumar and their sons Shiva Rajkumar, Puneeth Rajkumar and Raghavendra Rajkumar under the production house named "Poornima Enterprises". Actresses who found fame in her productions include Malashri, Prema, Rakshita, Sudha Rani and Ramya. She was awarded a doctorate from Bangalore University.
Sriimurali, also known simply as Murali, is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Kannada cinema. After making his debut in 2003 in Chandra Chakori, he appeared in Kanti as the eponymous lead, a performance that won him the Karnataka State Film Award for Best Actor in 2004. His performance in the 2014 Kannada film Ugramm received unanimous praise and emerged as a major success.
Eradu Kanasu is a 1974 Indian Kannada-language romantic drama film directed by the duo Dorai–Bhagavan, and is based on the novel of the same name by Vani. The film stars Rajkumar, Kalpana and Manjula.
Namyajamanru is a 2009 Indian Kannada-language drama film directed and written by T. S. Nagabharana. The film stars Vishnuvardhan along with Navya Nair and Vijay Raghavendra. The film was produced by Rajakumari Rajshekar.
Vijay Kumar Basavarajaiah, known by his stage name Sanchari Vijay, was an Indian actor known for his work in Kannada cinema. He began his career as a stage actor. He trained on stage from Sanchari Theatre, a culture centre with its own drama troupe, based in Bangalore.
Vamshodharaka is a 2015 Indian Kannada language family drama film directed by Aditya Chikkanna and produced by actor Aravind Rathasapthami. The film stars Vijay Raghavendra and Meghana Raj pairing up for the first time in lead roles.
Avane Srimannarayana is a 2019 Indian Kannada-language western fantasy adventure comedy film directed and edited by Sachin B. Ravi in his directorial debut. Jointly produced by Pushkara Mallikarjunaiah and H.K.Prakash, the film features Rakshit Shetty and Shanvi Srivastava in lead roles. B. Ajaneesh Loknath and Charan Raj composed the soundtrack, with the former composing the score, whereas Karm Chawla handled the cinematography. Described by Shetty as "Southern Odd Fiction", the film follows a corrupt police officer who takes on a bandit chief in order to recover a missing treasure in the 1980s.
Sundar Raj is an Indian actor in the Kannada film industry (Sandalwood). Some of the notable films of Sundar Raj as an actor include Tabbaliyu Neenade Magane, Ondanondu Kaladalli, Chandanada Gombe, Kurigalu Saar Kurigalu (2001), Mathadana (2001), Aakasmika (1993).
Kismath (transl. Luck) is a 2018 Indian Kannada-language black comedy film directed by actor Vijay Raghavendra in his first directorial project. Apart from direction, Vijay has acted and co-produced along with his wife Spandana under their home banner Spandana Srushti. The rest of the cast includes Sangeetha Bhat, Naveen Krishna, Nanda Gopal, Dileep Raj among others. Actor Saikumar makes a guest appearance.
Pogaru (transl. Rage) is a 2021 Indian Kannada-language masala film directed by Nanda Kishore and produced by B. K. Gangadhar. The film stars Dhruva Sarja and Rashmika Mandanna with Chikkanna, P. Ravi Shankar, Pavitra Lokesh, and Raghavendra Rajkumar in supporting roles, and Sampath Raj, Dhananjay, Kai Greene, Morgan Aste and Dharma as antagonists.
