Sampath Kumar, known by his stage name Vishnuvardhan, was an Indian actor who worked predominantly in Kannada cinema besides also having sporadically appeared in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu and Malayalam language films. Vishnuvardhan has a prolific career spanning over four decades, during which he has acted in more than 220 films. A popular cultural icon of Karnataka, and holds the status of a matinée idol among the Kannada diaspora. He is popularly called as Sahasa Simha, Dada and The Angry Young Man of Kannada Cinema. Vishnuvardhan's contributions to Kannada cinema have been praised by his contemporaries in the Indian film industry. The Government of Karnataka honoured him with the Rajyothsava Prashasthi in 1990 and the Dr. Rajkumar Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007 for his contributions to Kannada cinema. He was called The Phoenix of Indian Cinema. In 2008, a poll conducted by CNN-IBN listed Vishnuvardhan as the most popular star in the Kannada film industry.
Malavalli Huchchegowda Amarnath, known by his screen name Ambareesh, was an Indian actor, media personality, politician from the state of Karnataka. Alongside Rajkumar and Vishnuvardhan, he is counted in Kannada cinema's "triumvirate" as its most celebrated actor.
Suhasini Maniratnam is an Indian actress who primarily works in Tamil and Telugu films. She has worked as an actress in Malayalam and Kannada films. She made her debut in Nenjathai Killathe (1980). Suhasini won National Film Award for Best Actress for her performance in Sindhu Bhairavi (1985).
Veeraswamy Ravichandran, known mononymously as Ravichandran, is an Indian actor, director, producer, music director, lyricist and editor working predominantly in Kannada cinema. The son of film producer N. Veeraswamy, he continues to produce and distribute films under his father's production house, Sri Eswari Productions. He is popularly referred to as "Crazy Star" by the media and his followers.
Malashree is an Indian actress who works predominantly in Kannada cinema besides also having sporadically appeared in Telugu and Tamil language films. In a career spanning three decades, she has appeared in about 70 films. She began her career as a child artiste in the 1979 Tamil film Imayam. She made her debut as a adult in the 1989 Kannada-language film Nanjundi Kalyana. In the following years, she established herself as one of Kannada cinema's top heroines. She had been called, by the media and fans, "Kanasina Rani". She was popular for playing diverse roles in women-centric movies many of which were highly successful at the box-office.
Bharathi Vishnuvardhan, also known mononymously as Bharathi, is an Indian actress known primarily for her work in Kannada cinema and television serials. She began her career in 1966, as a lead actress, with the Kannada movie Love in Bangalore though Dudde Doddappa was her first release. In a career spanning over 50 years, Bharathi has appeared in 150 films. Apart from 100 films in Kannada, she has also acted in a handful of Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films. Through the course of her career, she became known for her portrayal of roles of mythological and historical characters, and also that of a student, a romantic and a rural belle. Her role in Sri Krishnadevaraya (1970) as Chennambike won her the Karnataka State Film Award for Best Actress. In 2017, she was honoured with the Padma Shri by the Government of India. She has the distinction of having paired with Dr.Rajkumar as a lead actress in all the 26 movies she acted with him and is also paired with him the most no. of times in those movies where he played multiple roles.
Muthina Haara is a 1990 Indian Kannada-language war drama film directed by Rajendra Singh Babu. It stars Vishnuvardhan and Suhasini Maniratnam in the lead roles. K. S. Ashwath, Kavya and Ramkumar feature in supporting roles. The film speaks of the toll of warfare on a soldier's family. A portion of the core plot of the film is partially based on Ernest Hemingway's 1929 novel, A Farewell to Arms.
Bandhana is a 1984 Indian Kannada-language romantic drama film directed by Rajendra Singh Babu from a screenplay by H. V. Subba Rao and Rajendra Singh Babu, based on a novel of the same name by Usha Navaratnanram. The film revolves around the relationship between a surgeon, Harish and his student Nandini. The film stars Vishuvardhan as Dr. Harish and Suhasini as his protégé Nandini, along with Jai Jagadish, Roopadevi and G. K. Govinda Rao in supporting roles.
S. V. Rajendra Singh Babu is an Indian filmmaker and occasional actor who works primarily in Kannada cinema. He was born and brought up in Mysore. His father Shankar Singh produced many films under the banner Mahatma Pictures (Mysore). Babu has written directed movies of different genres in Kannada and in Hindi that include love stories, war, suspense thrillers and comedy movies. Many of his films have been adapted from novels or short stories. Babu has won numerous awards for his films. His sister is producer and actress Vijayalakshmi Singh, and brother-in-law, actor Jai Jagadish.
Mahakshatriya is a 1994 Indian Kannada-language action-drama film directed by Rajendra Singh Babu, starring Vishnuvardhan, Sonu Walia, Ramkumar, Sudha Rani and B. C. Patil. Rajendra Singh Babu won Best Director Filmfare award.
Thirupathi Narasimhalunaidu Venkatesh, better known by his stage name Rockline Venkatesh, is an Indian actor and film producer known for his works in Kannada, Tamil and Hindi cinemas. He is the founder and owner of the production and distribution company, Rockline Entertainments which has directed over five films as of 2012. In 2015 he co-produced Bajrangi Bhaijaan which earned the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment at the 63rd National Film Awards.
Hoovu Hannu is a 1993 Indian Kannada-language drama film based on the novel by Triveni of the same name. The film stars Lakshmi, Ajay Gundu Rao, Vyjayanthi and Baby Shamili. It was directed by Rajendra Singh Babu and produced by Vaibhava Lakshmi Productions. The music and lyrics were written and composed by Hamsalekha. The film was a musical hit and won many awards including the Karnataka State Film Awards and Filmfare Awards South. Veteran cinematographer V. K. Murthy worked in this film and won many accolades for his work. The film failed at box-office.
Antha is a 1981 Indian Kannada-language action thriller film directed by Rajendra Singh Babu, based on H. K. Ananth Rao's serialised story of the same name published for the weekly magazine Sudha. The film stars Ambareesh and Lakshmi, while Shakti Prasad, Lakshman, Vajramuni, Tiger Prabhakar, Sundar Krishna Urs appear in supporting roles. The plot revolves around an honest police officer (Ambareesh) who goes on to impersonate his lookalike, a dreaded criminal, to expose the nexus between the underworld and the establishment.
Aryan is a 2014 Indian Kannada-language sports drama film. Initially directed by Late D. Rajendra Babu, who died while filming half-way, the responsibility of directing the film went to Chi Guru Dutt. The film was produced by Dhruv Das under the banner Dreamweaver Entertainment and stars Shiva Rajkumar and Ramya.
Doddmane Hudga is a 2016 Indian Kannada-language action drama film co-written and directed by Duniya Soori, featuring Puneeth Rajkumar and Radhika Pandit. The film also features an ensemble cast of Ambareesh, Sumalatha, Bharathi Vishnuvardhan, Krishna, Srinivasa Murthy, and P. Ravi Shankar, with Shiva Rajkumar providing a voice-over. This film marks the 25th film of Puneeth Rajkumar in a lead role.
Prathima Devi was an Indian actress known for her work in Kannada films. Devi made her debut through the 1947 film Krishnaleela. She starred in the lead role in Jaganmohini (1951), the first Kannada film to complete 100 days at the box-office. She went on to appear in over 60 films.
D. Shankar Singh was an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter, exhibitor and a freedom fighter during the British rule in India. Singh, along with B. Vittalacharya co-found the "Mahatma Pictures", a production venture in 1946, that has produced over a hundred Kannada films. The very first film to release under this banner was Krishnaleela in 1947. His first directorial project was Jaganmohini in 1951. The film is recorded in history as one of the first Kannada films to have screened for over 100 days in cinema halls.
Vijayalakshmi Singh is an Indian actress, director, costume designer and producer in Kannada. She has acted in many Kannada films and is actively involved in television projects.
Dhanya Ramkumar is an Indian actress and model who works in Kannada films. She started her career as an employee at PR firm in Bangalore and as a fashion model. She won the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut – South for her role in Ninna Sanihake. After the success in her debut movie, she got the role in Kannada movies Hide and Seek, The Judgement -- See You in Court, and Ella Ninagagi.
