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 and versatile actors in the history of Indian cinema, 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 Playback singing. His 39 movies have been remade 63 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.
Kailasam Balachandar was an Indian filmmaker and playwright who worked mainly in the Tamil cinema. He was well known for his distinct film-making style, and the Indian film industry knew him as a master of unconventional themes and hard-hitting contemporary subject matter. Balachander's films are well known for their portrayal of women as bold personalities and central characters. Popularly referred to as Iyakkunar Sigaram, his films are usually centred on unusual or complicated interpersonal relationships and social themes. He started his film career in 1964 as a screenwriter and graduated to a director with Neerkumizhi (1965).
Tyagraj Paramasiva Iyer Kailasam, was an Indian playwright and prominent writer in the Kannada literature. Literary criticism in Kannada literature is said to have started for the first time by Kailasam in his works.
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 amongst 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.
M. Nassar is an Indian actor, director, producer, dubbing artist, singer and politician who mainly works in the Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam film industries. He has also worked in few Kannada, English, Hindi and Bengali films. He is the incumbent president of the Nadigar Sangam.
Vijayashanti is an Indian actress, producer and politician. In a film career spanning 40 years, she has acted in 187 feature films in a variety of roles in various languages predominantly in Telugu films, in addition toTamil, Hindi, Kannada, and Malayalam films. She is widely referred as the "Lady Superstar", "Lady Amitabh", and "The Action Queen of Indian Cinema", She won the National Film Award for Best Actress for her work as a female cop in Kartavyam for depicting both aggression and feminity with balance and restraint (1990). She is a recipient of several accolades, including four Andhra Pradesh state Nandi Awards for Best Actress, seven Filmfare Awards South together with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003, and the Kalaimamani Award from Tamil Nadu Government.
Shanti Shanti Shanti is a 1998 Indian Kannada-language romantic drama film directed by Srinivas. The film starred Abbas, Madhavan, Prakash Raj, Prema, Avni Vasa, and Satish Shah in leading roles. During production, the film became known for its series of innovative ideas in the Kannada film industry. It became the first film to have a website and a six-track DTS sound. The film, which featured cinematography from P. C. Sriram, released on 20 November 1998. The film was dubbed into the Tamil language as Relax.
Thiruda Thirudi is a 2003 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film written and directed by debutant Subramaniam Siva. The film stars Dhanush and Chaya Singh, with Karunas, Manikka Vinayagam, and Krishna in supporting roles. It was released on 5 September 2003 and became a success. The film was remade in Telugu as Donga Dongadi and in Kannada as Sakha Sakhi.
Priya Mani Raj, known by her stage name Priyamani, is an Indian actress. She is the recipient of several awards, including a National Film Award and three Filmfare Awards South. She predominantly work in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi and Kannada languages films.
Chaya Singh is an Indian actress who predominantly works in Tamil and Kannada films and television shows. She started her acting career in Kannada films and has worked in Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Bengali and Bhojpuri films. She has a reputation of being very selective in her roles. Chaya is well known of her lead role in Thiruda Thirudi (2003).
Modern Kannada literature refers to the body of literature written in the Kannada language, a language spoken mainly in the Indian state of Karnataka. The Kannada script is the writing system used in Kannada literature. In the last forty years, eight modern Kannada authors have been awarded the Jnanpith award, a prestigious private literary award in India. In addition, the Sahitya Akademi Award, the second-highest award for literature granted by the Government of India, has been conferred upon Kannada writers fifty times.
Wagle Ki Duniya is an Indian sitcom that aired on DD National from 1988 to 1990. It was produced by Durga Khote, directed by Kundan Shah, and was based on characters created by noted cartoonist, R. K. Laxman, especially "the common man" about the issues of common middle-class Indian man. It starred Anjan Srivastav as a bumbling sales clerk in a multinational and Bharati Achrekar as his wife.
M.G. Srinivas is an Indian actor, film director and screenwriter who works in Kannada cinema. He made his debut as a director in the Kannada film industry with Topiwala (2013), a commercial entertainer starring Upendra. He made his debut as a lead actor in Srinivasa Kalyana (2017).
Deepika Kamaiah is an Indian model turned film actress. She has appeared in South Indian films in addition to Bollywood films. Kamaiah has been a finalist of Femina Miss India. She took part in Bigg Boss Kannada in the second season.
Sanaadi Appanna is a 1977 Indian Kannada-language musical film directed by Vijay based on the novel Kuniyitu Hejje Naliyithu Gejje by Krishnamoorthy Puranik which was loosely based on the life of Bagalkote shehnai player Appanna (1876-1945). The film starred Rajkumar in title role with Jaya Prada in the lead role along with Ashok, Balakrishna, R. Sampath, Thoogudeepa Srinivas, Papamma and Baby Madhavi in supporting roles. Puneeth Rajkumar made a brief appearance in one of the songs of this film.
Operation Diamond Racket is a 1978 Indian Kannada-language action spy thriller film produced and directed by the duo Dorai–Bhagavan, starring Rajkumar and Padmapriya. The supporting cast features Chandralekha, Vajramuni, Thoogudeepa Srinivas, Tiger Prabhakar and Fighter Shetty.
Rowdy Aliya is a 2004 Kannada comedy - action film directed and written by Om Sai Prakash and produced by Neha. The film features Shiva Rajkumar and Priyanka Trivedi in the lead roles along with Jaimala and Chaya Singh in other pivotal roles.
Bharath B. J. is an Indian music producer, composer and singer, who works predominantly in Kannada cinema. Starting his career as a composer for the short film Simply Kailawesome in 2010, Bharath got his breakthrough in 2013 with the film Simple Agi Ondh Love Story. He won the Filmfare Award for Best Music Director for the film Beautiful Manasugalu. Apart from composing music, Bharath has recorded his voice for songs, notably the "Hey Who Are You" song from the film Kirik Party (2016).
Old Monk is a 2022 Indian Kannada-language romantic comedy film written and directed by M. G. Srinivas. The film features MG Srinivas, Aditi Prabhudeva in lead role. The film's title was inspired from the popular alcohol beverage brand, but it also means "Hale Sanyasi" in Kannada. Veteran actor Rajesh, made a special cameo appearance in the film. The film was released on February 25, 2022 simultaneously in the Kannada and Telugu languages.
House Full is a 2009 Indian Kannada-language film directed by Hemanth Hegde, starring Diganth, Vishakha Singh, Hemanth Hegde and Girija Oak in lead roles.
