Rajan–Nagendra were an Indian musical duo who were prominent composers of film music in Kannada and Telugu cinema from the late 1950s to the early 1990s. Rajan, along with his brother Nagendra, created a niche for themselves for nearly four decades. The duo scored music for about 375 films, over 200 of them in Kannada and the remainder in other languages like Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Tulu, Hindi and Sinhala. They composed innumerable hits, hundreds of melodious tunes in their career spanning four decades. They also hold the record for the longest active musical pair in the industry.
Bahaddur Gandu is a 1976 Indian Kannada-language swashbuckler film directed by A. V. Sheshagiri Rao, starring Rajkumar, Jayanthi, Aarathi and Vajramuni. The movie saw a theatrical run of 19 weeks. The story was penned by the celebrated playwright H. V. Subba Rao based on William Shakespeare's play The Taming of the Shrew.
Auto Raja is a 1980 Indian Kannada-language romance film directed by Vijay, based on a screenplay by M. D. Sundar. The film was produced by Parvathamma Rajkumar's sister husband C. Jayaram under the banner of Sapthaswara Movie Makers. The film stars Shankar Nag and Gayathri in lead roles, while Dwarakeesh, Balakrishna and Leelavathi appear in other supporting roles. The film features original songs composed by the music duo Rajan–Nagendra. The cinematography of the film was handled by S. V. Srikanth. It is considered as one of the best commercial films in Kannada cinema and received cult status. The film was significant in heightening the stardom of Shankar Nag. The film was remade in 1981 in Telugu as Taxi Driver starring Krishnam Raju and in 1982 in Tamil with the same name starring Vijayakanth.
Bhale Huchcha is a 1972 Indian Kannada-language film directed by Y. R. Swamy and produced by Gopal Lakshman. It stars Rajkumar and Aarathi. This film was dubbed into Telugu as Dasara Picchodu and released in 1973. This was the only Kannada movie of actress Helen.
Bayalu Daari is a 1976 Indian Kannada-language film directed and produced by the Dorai–Bhagavan duo. It is based on the novel of the same name by Bharathi Sutha. This was the first movie of the director duo without Dr. Rajkumar in the lead. The film starred Anant Nag, Kalpana, and K. S. Ashwath. It was a musical blockbuster with all the songs composed by Rajan–Nagendra considered evergreen hits. Bayalu Daari was the first commercial success for Anant Nag who had earlier done art films and established himself as a leading star in the Kannada cinema with a chocolate hero image. This film was one the last big hits of Kalpana. Ilayaraja was the guitar player for this movie. The helicopter scenes formed a major highlight of the movie.
Benkiya Bale is a 1983 Indian Kannada-language film, directed by the Dorai–Bhagavan duo. It is based on the novel of the same name by T. R. Subba Rao. The film stars Anant Nag, Lakshmi, K. S. Ashwath and Thoogudeepa Srinivas.
Bhagyavantharu is a 1977 Indian Kannada-language drama film directed by H. R. Bhargava, making his debut. The film features Rajkumar and B. Saroja Devi in lead roles supported by an ensemble cast including Ashok, Balakrishna, Dwarakish and Ramakrishna. The film was produced by Dwarakish. The dialogues and lyrics were written by Chi. Udaya Shankar. The film's original score and soundtrack were composed by Rajan–Nagendra. Puneeth Rajkumar made a brief appearance in one of the songs of this film. The movie is a remake of 1974 Tamil movie Dheerga Sumangali.
Giri Kanye is a 1977 Indian Kannada-language drama film directed by the Dorai–Bhagavan duo. It is based on the novel Girikannika by Bharathisutha. The film stars Rajkumar, Jayamala and Vajramuni. The film was a musical blockbuster with all the songs composed by Rajan–Nagendra considered evergreen hits. The movie saw a theatrical run of 25 weeks. Rajinikanth was initially selected to play the antagonist which was eventually played by Vajramuni. This was the first movie in which all the songs of the album were sung by Rajkumar.
Sri Srinivasa Kalyana, is 1974 Kannada-language Hindu mythological film directed by Vijay. Based on lord Venkateswara, the film stars Rajkumar, B. Saroja Devi and Manjula in key roles. It also featured the first screen appearances of Rajkumar's sons, Shiva Rajkumar and Raghavendra Rajkumar as child actors. The movie was dubbed in Tamil as Ezhumalaiyan Dharisanam and in Telugu as Sri Tirupatikshetra Mahatyam (1977).
Gayathri Maduve is a 1983 Indian Kannada-language film, directed by B. Mallesh and produced by Lakshman. The film stars Anant Nag, Ambika, Roopadevi and Tiger Prabhakar. The film has musical score by Rajan–Nagendra.
Kula Gourava is a 1971 Indian Kannada language romantic drama film directed by Peketi Sivaram and written by G. Balasubramanyam. It stars Rajkumar in triple roles along with Bharathi and Jayanthi. The film was produced under Sri Eswari Productions of N. Veeraswamy. It had a very successful soundtrack composed by T. G. Lingappa. Popular actor-director V. Ravichandran, son of the film producer Veerasamy, appeared in the film as a child artist. The film swept 5 awards at the 1970-71 Karnataka State Film Awards including the best film, best actor, and best editor categories.
Sri Krishna Rukmini Satyabhama is a 1971 Kannada-language Hindu mythological film written and directed by K. S. L. Swamy. The film stars Rajkumar, B. Saroja Devi, Aarathi and Bharathi. The film was released under Raghunandan Movies banner and the music was composed by R. Sudarsanam.
Thayi Devaru is a 1971 Indian Kannada-language drama film written by Shivam and directed by Siddalingaiah. It stars Rajkumar, M. V. Rajamma and Bharathi. The film was released under Jain Movies banner and produced by Chandulal Jain. H. R. Bhargava worked as associate director, M. S. Rajashekar as assistant director and G. K. Venkatesh was the soundtrack and score composer. The dialogues and lyrics were written by Chi. Udaya Shankar. The movie was remade in Telugu in 1973 as Kanna Koduku starring Akkineni Nageswara Rao.
Sose Tanda Soubhagya is a 1977 Kannada film written by P. B. Duttaragi, directed by A. V. Sheshagiri Rao, starring Vishnuvardhan and Manjula. It is the first CinemaScope movie made in Kannada.
Vasantha Lakshmi is a 1978 Indian Kannada-language film, directed by A. V. Seshagiri Rao and produced by K. Vittala Kumar, K. V. Honnappa and K. V. Gurunath. The film stars Srinath, Aarathi, Vishnuvardhan and Manjula. The film has musical score by Vijaya Bhaskar. The movie is a remake of the 1974 Tamil movie Engamma Sapatham.
Gandhada Gudi Part 2 is a 1994 Indian Kannada-language adventure film directed by Vijay and produced by M. P. Shankar. A sequel to Gandhada Gudi (1973), the film stars Shiva Rajkumar, Tiger Prabhakar, Rajeshwari and Charan Raj. Actor Rajkumar, who featured in the prequel as the main lead, made a brief appearance in the film. The film's soundtrack was composed by Rajan–Nagendra.
Sri Kanyaka Parameshwari Kathe is a 1966 Indian Kannada-language film, directed and produced by Hunsur Krishnamurthy. The film stars Rajkumar, B. M. Venkatesh, Nagendra Rao and H. R. Shastry. The film has musical score by Rajan–Nagendra. H. R. Bhargava was the associate director of this movie.
Arishina Kumkuma is a 1970 Indian Kannada film, directed by K. S. L. Swamy (Ravee) and produced by H. V. Nagendrappa, M. V. Dodda Veeranna, K. V. Nagabhushana Shetty, K. G. Veeranna, Mallikarjunappa and Thippeswamy. The film stars Kalpana, Kalyan Kumar, Rajesh and K. S. Ashwath in the lead roles. The film has musical score by Vijaya Bhaskar. The film was remade in Tamil as Deivamsam (1972) with AVM Rajan and Sasikumar.
Nanna Devaru is a 1982 Kannada-language film, directed by B. Mallesh and produced by K. S. Ashok. The story was written by R. Selvaraj. The film stars Ananth Nag, Sujatha, Tiger Prabhakar and K. S. Ashwath. Actress Jayanthi appeared in a brief cameo role. The film's score and songs were composed by Rajan–Nagendra, whilst the cinematography was by B. C. Gowrishankar.
Moodu Mullu is a 1983 Indian Telugu-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Jandhyala. It is a remake of the 1983 Tamil film Mundhanai Mudichu. The film stars Chandramohan and Radhika. It was released on 9 September 1983 and emerged a commercial success.
