Kannada cinema, also known as Sandalwood, or Chandanavana, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Kannada language widely spoken in the state of Karnataka. Kannada cinema is based in Gandhi Nagar, Bangalore. The 1934 film Sati Sulochana directed by Y. V. Rao was the first talkie film to release in the Kannada language. It was also the first film starring Subbaiah Naidu and Tripuramba, and was the first motion picture screened in the erstwhile Mysore Kingdom. The film was produced by Chamanlal Doongaji, who in 1932 founded South India Movietone in Bangalore.
SIIMA Award for Best Actor – Kannada is presented by Vibri media group as part of its annual South Indian International Movie Awards, for best acting done by an actor in Kannada films. The award was first given in 2012 for films released in 2011.
SIIMA Award for Best Actress – Kannada is presented by Vibri media group as part of its annual South Indian International Movie Awards, for best acting done by an actress in Kannada films. The award was first given in 2012 for films released in 2011.
Rakshit Shetty is an Indian actor and filmmaker working predominantly in Kannada cinema. He is the recipient of one National Film Award, two Filmfare Awards South, two Karnataka State Film Awards and five SIIMA Awards. He debuted with the film Namm Areal Ond Dina (2010) and got his breakthrough in the cult Blockbuster Ulidavaru Kandanthe (2014) and further established himself as a lead actor in Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu (2015), Kirik Party (2016), Avane Srimannarayana (2019), 777 Charlie (2021), and Sapta Saagaradaache Ello – Side A (2023), with 777 Charlie becoming the highest-grossing film of his career.
Achyuth Kumar is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Kannada cinema, along with some Tamil films. He is well known for his performances in the K.G.F film series, Kantara, Sidlingu, and Lucia. He is the recipient of three Filmfare Awards and two Karnataka State Film Awards, one each in Best Supporting Actor and Best Actor categories.
B. Ajaneesh Loknath is an Indian composer who works predominantly for Kannada cinema. He received the Karnataka State Film Award for Best Music Director for his work in the film Ulidavaru Kandanthe in 2015. He is known for his collaborations with Rakshit Shetty, Rishab Shetty and Anup Bhandari.
Prashanth Shetty, known professionally as Rishab Shetty, is an Indian actor and film maker who primarily works in Kannada cinema. He is known for his critical and commercial blockbuster, Kantara, which he directed and also acted in as the main lead. He is the recipient of several accolades, including the National Film Award for Best Children's Film at the 66th National Film Awards for Sarkari Hi. Pra. Shaale, Kasaragodu, Koduge: Ramanna Rai(2018).
Kirik Party is a 2016 Indian Kannada-language romantic comedy film directed by Rishab Shetty and produced by G. S. Guptha and Rakshit Shetty. It stars Rakshit Shetty, Rashmika Mandanna, Samyuktha Hegde, Achyuth Kumar, Aravinnd Iyer, Dhananjay Ranjan, Chandan Achar and Pramod Shetty play prominent roles. Rakshit Shetty wrote the story and co-wrote the script with a team called "The Seven Odds", which consisted of Rakshit Shetty, Rishab Shetty, Abhijith Mahesh, Dhananjay Ranjan, Kiranraj K, Chandrajith Belliappa. The film marks the acting debut of Rashmika Mandanna and Samyuktha Hegde.
Samyuktha Hegde is an Indian actress who predominantly works in Kannada and Tamil films. She made her film debut with the Kannada film Kirik Party opposite Rakshit Shetty, directed by Rishab Shetty. She played the role named Arya, for which she won Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress – Kannada. She made her debut in Tamil language through Comali opposite Jayam Ravi and Kajal Agarwal.
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.
Raj B. Shetty is an Indian actor, director, and screenwriter who works in Kannada film industry. He gained recognition through his directorial debut, Ondu Motteya Kathe (2017), which was a huge commercial success. He further cemented it with Gubbi Mele Brahmastra (2019), Mayabazar 2016 (2020), and Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana (2021), which got widespread acclaim and is now considered to be one of the best films of Kannada cinema.
Paramvah Studios is an Indian film studio involved in distribution and production. It is located in Bengaluru.
Sarkaari Hiriya Praathamika Shaale, Kaasaragodu, Kodugé: Raamanna Rai is a 2018 Indian Kannada language socio-political comedy film written, directed and produced by Rishab Shetty, presented by Sudeep. The film stars Anant Nag, Ranjan, Sampath, Pramod Shetty, Saptha Pavoor, Mahendra, Sohan Shetty, Prakash Thuminad, Manish Heroor and others.
Bell Bottom: The Adventures of Detective Diwakara is a 2019 Indian Kannada-language crime comedy film directed by Jayatheertha and written by Dayanand T. K. Set in the 1980s, it is produced by Santhosh Kumar K. C. under the Golden Horse Cinema banner. Rishab Shetty and Hariprriya are in the lead roles. The supporting cast includes Achyuth Kumar, Yogaraj Bhat and Pramod Shetty. The technical crew members include B. Ajaneesh Loknath as the music composer, Aravind Kashyap as the cinematographer, K. M. Prakash as the editor and Raghu Niduvalli as the dialogue writer. It was shot in Sagara taluk in Shivamogga. Parts of the police station sequences were shot in Udupi.
Chandan Achar is an Indian theatre and film actor who works in Kannada. He is known for his works in movies including Kirik Party and Chemistry of Kariyappa. For his performance in the film Kirik Party, he got SIIMA award for Best Actor in Supporting Role (Male) in 2017. He was also a contestant in the reality show of Bigg Boss Kannada.
777 Charlie is a 2022 Indian Kannada-language adventure drama film written and directed by Kiranraj K. and produced by Paramvah Studios. It stars Charlie, a Labrador dog in the title role, and Rakshit Shetty alongside Sangeetha Sringeri, Raj B. Shetty, Danish Sait, Bobby Simha and Aniruddh Roy. The film follows the journey and bonding between a lonely factory worker and a stray Labrador dog.
Kantara is a 2022 Indian Kannada-language action thriller film written and directed by Rishab Shetty, and produced by Vijay Kiragandur, under Hombale Films. The film stars Rishab Shetty in a dual role with Kambala champion who is at loggerheads with an upright forest officer, Murali.
Sapthami Gowda is an Indian actress who works primarily in Kannada Cinema. She made her acting debut with the 2020 film Popcorn Monkey Tiger directed by Duniya Suri and is known for her role of Leela in Kantara, directed by Rishab Shetty in 2022.
