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.
Prathivadhi Bhayankara Sreenivas widely known as P. B. Sreenivas was an Indian playback singer, composer, harmonium player, lyricist, littérateur, and poet known for his works in South cinema, and Bollywood. His major chunk of work has been in Kannada, Tamil, and Telugu languages. He has garnered the Kannada Rajyotsava Prashasti, the Tamil Kalaimamani Award, and the Madhavapeddi Satyam Award by the Andhra Siva Foundation, for his contributions to music and cinema. In his honor, Sri Kala Sudha Telugu Association of Chennai, instituted the P. B. Sreenivas Mahapurush Award to honor veteran singers.
Bangalore Saroja Devi is an Indian actress who has acted in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi films. She acted in around 200 films in over six decades. She is known by the epithets "Abhinaya Saraswathi" in Kannada and "Kannadathu Paingili" in Tamil. She is one of the most successful actresses in the history of Indian cinema.
Bedara Kannappa is a 1954 Indian Kannada-language Hindu mythological film directed by H. L. N. Simha and written by G. V. Iyer. The film stars Rajkumar playing the title character along with Pandari Bai, Kushala Kumari, G. V. Iyer, Sandhya and Narasimharaju in other prominent roles. The film is an adaptation of a stage play by the Gubbi Veeranna Nataka Company, which was based on the folk tale of the hunter Kannappa who proves his extreme devotion to the Hindu God Shiva by gouging out both his eyes.
Yaragudipadi Venkata Mahalakshmi, known professionally as Lakshmi, is an Indian actress known for her works primarily in the southern film industry, along with some Hindi films. She made her film debut through a Tamil film Sri Valli in 1961. Her debut as an actress happened with the Tamil film Jeevanaamsam in 1968. In the same year, she also debuted in Kannada and Telugu films with Goa Dalli CID 999 and Bandhavyalu, and in 1974.
Gubbi Hampanna Veeranna was an Indian theatre director. He was one of the pioneers and most prolific contributors to Kannada theatre. He established the drama company, Gubbi Sree Channabasaveshwara Nataka Company, which played a crucial role in promoting the Kannada theatre field. He has been conferred the title Nataka Ratna meaning "A Precious Jewel" in the theatre world.
Vasundhara Devi, known by her stage name Kanchana, is an Indian actress who worked in Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada films, in addition to Malayalam and Hindi films.
Sankaramanchi Janaki, popularly known as Shavukaru Janaki (Telugu) or Sowcar Janaki (Tamil) or Sahukar Janaki (Kannada), is an Indian actress who has appeared in over 300, films, predominantly in Telugu, Tamil, and Kannada languages. She also performed on stage in over 300 shows and was a radio artist during her earlier years. She is the recipient of two Nandi Awards, Kalaimamani and India's fourth-highest civilian award Padma Shri. Her younger sister Krishna Kumari, is also a noted actress.
Padmini Ramachandran was an Indian actress and trained Bharatanatyam dancer, who acted in over 250 Indian films. She acted in Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam, Telugu and Russian language films. Padmini, with her elder sister Lalitha and her younger sister Ragini, were called the "Travancore sisters".
Kutty Padmini is an Indian actress who mainly works in Tamil cinema. She was a child star in her debut movie Ambala Anjulam (1959). She has also acted in Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi movies. She made her debut in Tamil cinema at the age of 3. She has acted with prominent personalities of Tamil cinema, including Sivaji Ganesan, M. G. Ramachandran, Gemini Ganesan, Jaishankar, Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan. She was the first female artist from Tamil Nadu to win the National Film Award for Best Child Artist for the movie Kuzhandaiyum Deivamum. The first Tamil child artiste to win the award was Kamal Haasan for Kalathur Kannamma.
Leelavathi is an Indian actress who worked in Kannada, Tamil and Telugu films. She has acted in more than 600 films throughout her career for more than 50 years. She is known for her memorable performances in Bhakta Kumbara, Mana Mecchida Madadi and Santha Thukaram. She has been the recipient of the Dr. Rajkumar Award in 1999 and Filmfare Awards.
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.
M. Saroja was an Indian actress and comedian who worked in Tamil cinema. She was frequently paired alongside K. A. Thangavelu.
Mynavathi was an Indian actress. She made her first screen appearance as an actor in the 1955 Kannada film Santa Sakhu and acted in over 100 Kannada films. She was the younger sister of another popular Kannada actress Pandari Bai. She became popular after her role in the 1959 Kannada film Abba Aa Hudugi, which co-starred Rajkumar and her sister Pandari Bai and was directed by H. L. N. Simha. In the film, she played the role of an autocratic girl who hates men. It was based on William Shakespeare's play The Taming of the Shrew.
M. V. Rajamma was an Indian actress, producer and playback singer of films mostly in Kannada, Tamil and Telugu languages from the 1930s through 1970s. She has the distinction of having acted as both heroine and mother to stalwart South Indian actors such as Dr. Rajkumar, Sivaji Ganesan, MGR and NTR. Karnataka Government established M. V. Rajamma Award in her honor.
K. R. Indira Devi (1949–2017) was an Indian actress who was active in Tamil Cinema during the latter half of the 20th century. She was well known for her supporting roles, but was also a successful dubbing artist. In a career spanning close to five decades, she acted in more than 250 films in the Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. Indira debuted as heroine in Konjum Kumari (1963). She was awarded the Kalaimamani by Government of Tamil Nadu.
Halebeedu Ramachandra Shastry, was an Indian actor and dubbing artist known for his work in Kannada cinema. In his career spanning more than 40 years, Shastry played a variety of supporting roles. He is noted for his performances in Bedara Kannappa (1954), Rayara Sose (1957), Bhoodana (1962), Sri Srinivasa Kalyana (1974) and Upasane (1974). Shastry's last movie was Pavana Ganga.
Udupi Jayaram was an Indian choreographer known for his work in Kannada cinema. He choreographed in dance sequences for over 500 films which included Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Tulu films.
Pandari Bai was an Indian actress who worked in South Indian cinema, mostly in Kannada cinema during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. She is considered Kannada cinema's first successful heroine. She has acted as both heroine and mother to stalwarts such as Rajkumar, M. G. Ramachandran, Sivaji Ganesan. She was the heroine in Rajkumar's debut movie Bedara Kannappa and also Sivaji's debut movie Parasakthi. She has acted in over 1,000 films in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi. Bai was honoured by Kalaimamani from the Tamil Nadu government. The following is a complete list of her films:
