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 released in the Kannada language. It was also the first film starring Subbaiah Naidu and Tripuramba, and the first screened in the erstwhile Mysore Kingdom. It was produced by Chamanlal Doongaji, who in 1932 founded South India Movietone in Bangalore.
Jayanagara is an affluent mixed residential and commercial neighbourhood in Bengaluru, India. It is one of the zones of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike. It is sub-divided into seven wards.It is surrounded by Basavanagudi, JP Nagar, Wilson Garden, Banashankari 2nd stage, Gurappanapalya, Suddaguntepalya and BTM Layout among other areas. It is in proximity to the Lalbagh Botanical Gardens. Jayanagar has 10 area blocks, of which the 3rd and 4th blocks are largely commercial hubs, while the rest are mostly residential.
Basaveshwaranagara, also known as Basaveshwaranagar, Basaveshnagara or Basaveshnagar is a largely residential neighbourhood in the west of Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. It is located to the west of Rajajinagara and is sandwiched between the localities of Mahalakshmi Layout to the north and Vijayanagara to the south, spread across multiple sub-localities, three assembly constituencies and seven Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) wards. The area of Basaveshwaranagara is often considered West of Chord Road as it lies to the west of Chord Road, an arterial road in the western part of Bengaluru.
Shankar Nagarakatte was an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, and producer known for his work in Kannada-language films and television. A popular cultural icon of Karnataka, Nag is often referred to as Karate King. He directed the teleserial Malgudi Days, based on novelist R. K. Narayan's short stories and acted in some episodes as well. He won two National Film Awards, four Karnataka State Film Awards and two Filmfare Award South.
Anant Nagarkatte is an Indian actor whose predominant contribution has been in Kannada cinema. He has acted in over 300 films which include over 200 Kannada films as well as Hindi, Telugu, Marathi, Malayalam and English films. He has featured in theatre plays, parallel cinema and television shows.
Bengaluru is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. With a population of over 15 million, Bengaluru is the third largest city in India and 27th largest city in the world. Bengaluru is one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the country, with over 51% of the city's population being migrants from other parts of India. Historically a multicultural city, Bengaluru has experienced a dramatic social and cultural change with the advent of the liberalization and expansion of the information technology and business process outsourcing industries in India. IT companies in Bangalore employ over 35% of India's pool of 1 million IT professionals.
Arundhati Nag is an Indian actress. She has been involved with multilingual Theatre in India, for over 25 years, first in Mumbai where she got involved with Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA), and did various productions in Gujarati, Marathi, and Hindi theatre, and then in Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam and English, in Bangalore.
Rangayana is a theatre institute which operates from Mysore, Karnataka, India. It works as an autonomous cultural institute. The organization consists of a professional repertory company, a theatre-training institute and a documentation and research centre. Rangayana offers courses in stage craft, preparation and presentation of plays in Kannada. It also conducts programs for promotion of Kannada theatre. Rangayana hosts a theatre festival in Mysore every year. Rangayana is the only government sponsored repertory theatre in the country. It is also undertaking a project to introduce theatre to kids and has created a children's repertory in association with the International Theatre Institute and Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency.
The Sanket Trust is a non-profit trust established in 1992 in Bangalore playwright Girish Karnad was its Chairman and actor-theatre practitioner Arundhati Nag, as its Managing Trustee, apart from theatre personalities as well as administrative experts on its board of trustees. It formally administers Ranga Shankara and all its activities. The Trust is advised and guided by theatre activists from all over the country. This informal advisory group meets whenever necessary to review Ranga Shankara activities and share ideas.
Yelandur Narayan Ravindra, known mononymously by his stage name Avinash, is an Indian actor who appears predominantly in Kannada and Tamil films. He has been working in films for more than three decades. Known for his authentic portrayal of complex characters and versatility, Avinash is one of the most sought actors in the supporting category. He is one of the few actors to enjoy both critical and commercial success.
Devaraj is an Indian actor and theatre actor who works in Indian film industry. He has largely featured in Kannada films performing various roles as a lead character, supporting character and villainous character. He has also featured in Telugu and Tamil films.
Odakalu Bimba is a Kannada monodrama by Indian playwright and author Girish Karnad. It was written in 2005 and marked Karnad's return to direction after a period of thirty years. He directed the play with KM Chaitanya
The Bangalore Queer Film Festival is an annual LGBT event that has been held in Bangalore, India since the year 2008. The event carefully selects queer films from all over the world and brings them to an ever-growing Bangalore audience.
Bengaluru, formerly called Bangalore in English, is the capital and largest city of the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than 8 million and a metropolitan population of around 15 million, making it India's third most populous city and fourth most populous urban agglomeration. It is the most populous city and largest urban agglomeration in South India, and is the 27th largest city in the world. Located on the Deccan Plateau, at a height of over 900 m (3,000 ft) above sea level, Bengaluru has a pleasant climate throughout the year, with its parks and green spaces earning it the reputation of India's "Garden City". Its elevation is the highest of India's major cities.
Murphy Town or Knoxpete, is a suburb located near Bangalore Cantonment, India. It is one of the oldest planned suburbs of the Cantonment, and was earlier known as Knoxpete, and was later changed to Hoysala Nagar. It is located North of Halasuru, with Murphy Road running along its periphery, and is also bounded by Old Madras Road and Kensington Road, with part of Kensington Road overlooking Halasuru Lake Madras Sappers.
Kirtana Kumar is an Indian actor, director, and film-maker based in Bengaluru. She writes on theatre and film and has been published in various national papers and magazines. She has a master's degree in European Classics and American Literature. She has received several major awards and fellowships including from the McArthur Foundation and India Foundation for the Arts for her contribution to theatre & film. She was educated at Sophia High School, Bangalore. She is a trustee of Women Artists' Group, runs the year long Theatre Lab for children and is the co-owner of Infinite Souls Farm, a rural artists residency in Bangalore.
Prakash Belawadi is an Indian theatre artist, film director, television and media personality, who's also a teacher, activist and a journalist. He hails from Bangaluru. He has participated in many seminars, conferences and festivals in India and abroad. He is a motivational speaker at events and TEDx conferences. He is also a mentor with the founding team of BISFF since 2010.
Living Room or The Living Room, is a 2015 Indian play written and directed by actress and playwright Kalki Koechlin, which premiered at Ranga Shankara Hall, Bangalore, in July 2015. The play that marked the directorial debut of Koechlin, stars Neil Bhoopalam and Sheeba Chaddha in lead roles with Jim Sarbh and Tariq Vasudeva playing supporting roles. The play opened to positive response from critics.
Aneesh Vidyashankar is a violinist, composer and architect. He is best known as the "Walking Violinist". for his ability to walk and play fusion music on the violin, amidst the crowd. He was introduced to Carnatic Music at the age of three and was formally trained by his father S.R Vidyashankar, who hails from the Lalgudi Jayaraman school of violin playing. Aneesh was a child prodigy and gave his first solo violin performance on stage, when he was six years old.
Padmavati Rao, credited as Akshatha Rao in Kannada films, is an Indian actress, theatre personality, poet, dancer and translator. She is known for her theatre activities and performances in movies including Ondanondu Kaladalli (1978),Geetha (1981),Pardes (1997), Padmaavat (2018) and Tanhaji (2020).
