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. 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.
Raghavendra Rajkumar is an Indian actor, singer and producer in Kannada cinema. He is the second son of actor Dr. Rajkumar and film producer Parvathamma Rajkumar. He made his film debut as a lead actor in Chiranjeevi Sudhakar (1988) before appearing in the hugely successful 1989 film Nanjundi Kalyana. He went on to star in films such as Gajapathi Garvabhanga (1989), Anukoolakkobba Ganda (1990), and Geluvina Saradaara (1996). His last prominent film was Upendra's Swasthik (1998), a box office failure. He starred in Pakkadmane Hudugi (2004) before taking a fifteen year sabbatical from acting. He has since produced television serials under Poornima Productions and films under Sri Vajreshwari Combines.
Sri Raghavendrar is a 1985 Tamil-language Hindu mythological film directed by S. P. Muthuraman and was produced by Kavithalayaa Productions. The film stars Rajinikanth, portraying the title character, in his 100th film. Lakshmi, Vishnuvardhan, Delhi Ganesh and Nizhalgal Ravi play prominent roles. The film is based on the life of Hindu saint Raghavendra Tirtha. The soundtrack was composed by Ilaiyaraaja and lyrics were written by Vaali. The dialogues for the film were written by A. L. Narayanan.
Vidyasagar, known by his stage name Rajesh, was an Indian actor who appeared in Kannada films. Known as 'Kala Thapaswi', Rajesh was an ardent fan of literature. He appeared in many films as the lead in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later on gravitated to strong character roles. He is the father of film actress Aasha Rani who acted in Rathasapthami with Shivrajkumar and the father-in-law of popular Kannada and Tamil actor Arjun Sarja.
Daari Tappida Maga is a 1975 Indian Kannada-language film produced and directed by Peketi Sivaram. The film stars Rajkumar, Kalpana, Aarathi, Manjula and Jayamala with K. S. Ashwath, M. V. Rajamma and Vajramuni in supporting roles and Thoogudeepa Srinivas in a cameo along with Rajkumar's second son Raghavendra in a small role in his second on screen appearance as a child artist after the 1974 movie Sri Srinivasa Kalyana. Rajkumar appeared in dual roles in the movie. The music was composed by G. K. Venkatesh. The movie was a Blockbuster and saw a theatrical run of over 175 days in multiple centres. The movie was re-released on 22 November 2019. The movie was dubbed in Malayalam in 1976 as Kollakkaran. It was later remade in Malayalam in 1980 as Manushya Mrugam starring Jayan.
Miss Leelavathi is a 1965 Indian Kannada language film directed by M. R. Vittal and written by Korati Srinivasa Rao. It stars Jayanthi as the protagonist, along with Udaykumar, K. S. Ashwath, Ramesh and others. The film won the National Award for second best film in Kannada.
Bangarada Hoovu is a 1967 Indian Kannada language film directed, written and produced by B. A. Arasu Kumar. The film stars Rajkumar, Kalpana, Udaykumar and Shylashri. The film won many laurels upon release including the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Kannada. The movie was an adaptation of the play written by the director himself. The movie speaks about the misconceptions regarding leprosy - especially against the superstition that leprosy is a consequence of one's past sins.
Chandavalliya Thota is a 1964 Indian Kannada language film, directed by T. V. Singh Thakur. It stars Rajkumar, Udaykumar and Jayanthi. Film was release on 24 June 1964and ran for a hundred days at Prabhat Cinema in Bangalore. The film won many laurels upon release including the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Kannada for its Gandhian theme treatment of the poverty in rural Indian villages. The movie is based on the novel of same name by Ta.Ra.Su. This movie was the debut movie of singer K. J. Yesudas in Kannada.
Hannele Chiguridaga is a 1968 Indian Kannada-language film directed by M. R. Vittal and produced by Srikanth Enterprises. The film stars Rajkumar, R. Nagendra Rao and Kalpana. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Triveni and deals with the empowerment of women in education and also issues around widow marriage.
Naandi is a 1964 Kannada romantic drama film directed and written by N. Lakshminarayan, making his first venture in film direction. The film was produced by actor Vadiraj and Jawahar for Sri Bharathi Chitra studio house. The film starred Dr. Rajkumar and Harini along with Kalpana and Udaykumar playing guest roles. Actor Dinesh made his debut through this film in a supporting role.
Devara Makkalu is a 1970 Indian Kannada language drama film directed by Y. R. Swamy based on the novel Meena by Ma. Na. Murthy. It stars Rajkumar along with Jayanthi, Kalpana and Rajesh in other lead roles. The film stars a soundtrack from G. K. Venkatesh and is produced by Bharath Enterprises.
Maduve Madi Nodu is a 1965 Indian Kannada-language film, directed by Hunsur Krishnamurthy and produced by B.Nagi Reddy and Aluri Chakrapani. The film stars Rajkumar, R. Nagendra Rao, Udaykumar and Narasimharaju. The film has musical score by Ghantasala. It is a remake of producer's own Telugu film Pelli Chesi Choodu (1952). The movie was a profitable venture and was declared a super hit.
Bhoodana is a 1962 Indian Kannada-language film jointly directed and produced by G. V. Iyer and P.S. Gopalkrishna. The film stars Rajkumar, Kalyan Kumar, Udaykumar and K. S. Ashwath. The film has musical score by G. K. Venkatesh.
Sri Ramanjaneya Yuddha is a 1963 Indian Kannada-language film, directed by M. Nageshwara Rao and M S Nayak. The film stars Rajkumar, Udaykumar, K. S. Ashwath and Dikki Madhavarao. The film saw significant commercial success with a silver jubilee run at Box office as well as critically acclaimed for treating the relationship of Sri Rama and Anjaneya who are forced to battle with each other, very sensitively. The film has musical score by Chellapilla Satyam who made his debut through this film. The title card of the movie revealed that this was Rajkumar's 50th movie. The movie was remade in Telugu in 1975 as Sri Ramanjaneya Yuddham starring N. T. Rama Rao.
Vathsalya is a 1965 Indian Kannada-language film, directed by Y. R. Swamy. The film stars Rajkumar, Udaykumar, Narasimharaju and Shivaraj. The film has musical score by Vijaya Krishnamurthy. The film was a remake of the Tamil film Pasamalar. It was a big hit. This is the only movie in which Leelavathi played the role of Rajkumar's sister.
Simha Swapna is a 1968 Indian Kannada-language swashbuckler film directed by W. R. Subba Rao and produced by S. Bhavanarayan. The film stars Rajkumar, Udaykumar, Narasimharaju and Dikki Madhavarao. The film has musical score by G. K. Venkatesh.
Premamayi is a 1966 Indian Kannada-language film, directed by M. R. Vittal and produced by Srikanth Nahatha and Srikanth Patel. The film stars Rajkumar, K. S. Ashwath, Leelavathi and Jayanthi. The film has musical score by R. Sudarshanam. This is the only movie where Leelavathi played the role of Rajkumar's sister-in-law. The movie is an official adaptation of the National Award winning 1964 Malayalam movie Kudumbini.
Chakra Theertha is a 1967 Indian Kannada-language film, directed by Peketi Sivaram. The film stars Rajkumar, Udaykumar, Jayanthi and Balakrishna, with musical score by T. G. Lingappa. It is based on the novel of same name by T. R. Subba Rao. The director remade the film in Telugu in 1968 as Chuttarikaalu.
Sidila Mari is a 1971 Indian Kannada film, directed and produced by B. S. Ranga. The film stars Udaykumar, K. S. Ashwath, Dinesh and Dwarakish in lead roles. The film had musical score by S. Rajeshwara Rao.
Tuvvi Tuvvi Tuvvi is a 1999 Indian Kannada-language comedy film directed by Singeetam Srinivasa Rao and written by Richard Louis. The film stars Raghavendra Rajkumar and Charulatha. It was released on 5 February 1999.
