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.
Shubraveshti Ramaswamiah Seetharama Sharma, known popularly as S. R. Puttanna Kanagal, was an Indian filmmaker known for his work in Kannada cinema. He is often considered one of Kannada cinema's most influential filmmakers.
Sampath Kumar, known by his stage name Vishnuvardhan, was an Indian actor predominantly in Kannada cinema. He is regarded as one of the popular cultural icon of Karnataka. Vishnuvardhan is often referred to as Sahasa Simha and The Angry Young Man of Kannada Cinema. He appeared in more than 220 films all together in Kannada, Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu. He was called The Phoenix of Indian Cinema. He made his debut in the 1972 National Award winning film, Vamsha Vriksha, in a supporting role. The same year he played the lead role in Puttanna Kanagal's Naagarahaavu which was his breakthrough and he had won Filmfare Special Jury Award. He won Karnataka State Film Awards & Filmfare Awards South for best performance.
In Indian cinema, an item number or item song is a musical number inserted into a film that may or may not have any relevance to the plot. The term is commonly used within Indian films to describe a catchy, upbeat, often provocative dance sequence for a song performed in a movie. The main aim of an item number is to entertain movie-goers and to lend support to the marketability of the film by being featured in trailers. They are favoured by filmmakers as they afford the opportunity to pick potential hit songs from the stocks, since they do not add to the continuity of the plot. It is thus a vehicle for commercial success that ensures repeat viewing.
Manayangath Subramanian Viswanathan, also known as M.S.V., was an Indian music director, singer and actor who predominantly worked in Tamil film industry. He was popularly known as Mellisai Mannar. He composed songs for more than 800 Indian films and various albums. across languages primarily in Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu films. He has also acted and sung in a few Tamil films. The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu J Jayalalithaa conferred the Thirai Isai Chakravarthy title on him in August 2012 and presented him with 60 gold coins and a new car.
Sistla Janaki is an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer from Andhra Pradesh. She is referred to respectfully as "Janaki Amma" and Nightingale of South India. She is one of the best-known playback singers in India. She is referred to as 'Isaikkuyil' in Tamil Nadu and 'Gaana Kogile' in Karnataka. She has recorded over 48,000 songs in films, albums, TV and Radio which includes solos, duets, chorus and title tracks in 17 languages including Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi, Sanskrit, Odia,Tulu, Urdu, Punjabi, Badaga, Bengali, Konkani and also in foreign languages such as English, Japanese, German, and Sinhala. However the highest number of songs in her career were in Kannada, followed by Malayalam. Starting in 1957 with the Tamil film Vidhiyin Vilayattu, her career has spanned over six decades.
Vani Jairam, also credited as Vani Jayaram, is an Indian singer. She is best known as a playback singer in South Indian cinema. Vani's career started in 1971 and has spanned over five decades. She has done playback for over thousand Indian movies recording over 4,000 songs. In addition, she has recorded thousands of devotionals and private albums and also participated in numerous solo concerts in India and abroad.
Thoguluva Meenatchi Iyengar Soundararajan, popularly known as TMS, was an Indian Carnatic musician and a playback singer in Tamil cinema for over six and a half decades. He sang over 10,138 songs from 3,162 films, including devotional, semi-classical, Carnatic, classical and light music songs. He gave classical concerts starting in 1943.
Naagarahaavu (transl. Cobra) is a 1972 Indian Kannada-language film directed by Puttanna Kanagal, based on T. R. Subba Rao's three novels Nagarahavu, Ondu Gandu Eradu Hennu and Sarpa Mathsara, and starring Vishnuvardhan, Aarathi, K. S. Ashwath and Shubha. The supporting cast features Leelavathi, M. Jayashree, M. N. Lakshmi Devi, Ambareesh, Shivaram, Dheerendra Gopal, Lokanath and Vajramuni. The film has a musical score by Vijaya Bhaskar. Cinematography was done by Chittibabu.
Paduvaaralli Pandavaru is a 1978 Indian Kannada language film directed by Puttanna Kanagal. It stars Ambarish, Ramakrishna and Jai Jagadish as the protagonists and Aarathi makes an extended special appearance in the role of a journalist. The movie was an adaptation of the epic Mahabharata, fit into a rural scenario and referencing some of the clashes between the Pandavas and the Kauravas.
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.
Dharani Mandala Madhyadolage is a 1983 Indian Kannada-language drama film written and directed by Puttanna Kanagal, starring Srinath, Jai Jagadish, Vijayalakshmi Singh, Chandrashekar, Padma Vasanthi, Rekha Rao and T. N. Seetharam.
Manasa Sarovara is a 1982 Kannada language Indian film directed by Puttanna Kanagal and starring Srinath, Padma Vasanthi and Ramakrishna. Padmavasanthi won the Karnataka State Award for Best Actress for her performance. The plot was reported to be influenced by George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play Pygmalion.
Jadalathimmanahalli Krishnappa Srinivasa Murthy, known popularly as Srinivasa Murthy, is an Indian actor and television director. He is mostly known for his work as a director having made many television series in Kannada, beginning in 2001, based on the lives of various Kannada philosophers and poets, and adaptations of the works of popular Kannada writers. As an actor, he is known for his work in Kannada cinema, appearing often in supporting roles. He began his career as a stage artiste in both professional and amateur theatre, before taking to films in 1977. Known for his graceful acting, he is a disciplined actor who has carved out a niche in historical and emotional roles, and is a two-time recipient of the Karnataka State Film Award for Best Supporting Actor. His elder son Naveen Krishna is also an actor in Kannada films.
Apadanda T. Raghu popularly known as "A.T.Raghu" is an Indian director, actor, producer and screenplay writer, who has worked in the Kannada, Hindi, Malayalam and Kodava Takk film industries.
Inthi Ninna Preethiya is a 2008 Indian Kannada-language drama film written, directed and produced by Duniya Soori. The film's plot revolves around a family which struggles due to the bad effects of alcohol addiction.
Jaya Super Singer South India is a reality-based Indian Tamil-language singing competition that was broadcast on Jaya TV. The program seeks to discover playback singing talent in South India.
Airtel Super Singer 3 - Thamizhagathil Brahmaanda Kuralukkaana Thedal - Immurai Ulaga Alavil, the third season of the Airtel Super Singer show, was a reality-based Indian singing competition in Tamil language that aired on Vijay TV. It was designed to be a talent hunt to find the best voice of Tamil Nadu. The show premiered on 12 July 2010, and episodes were telecast between Monday to Thursday each week at 9:00pm. Persons above the age of 16 years were permitted to audition to showcase their talent on Vijay TV's platform.
Gopalakrishnan, known professionally as Achamillai Gopi, is an Indian actor, singer, dramatist, and a voice over & dubbing artist. He has acted in a number of films and TV serials and has also given his voice for various cine actors in multiple languages. He is a singer, owns a band called "Gopi melodies" for more than 30 years, and has been consistently performing live shows. He is also the nephew of singer Shri. Vani Jairam.
