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.
Shiva Rajkumar is an Indian actor, film producer and television presenter, who predominantly works in Kannada cinema. In a career spanning over three decades, he has worked in over 125 films in Kannada and has received several awards, including four Karnataka State Film Awards, four Filmfare Awards South and six South Indian International Movie Awards.
Sadananda Sagar, better known by his stage name Vajramuni, was an Indian actor who appeared in Kannada films. He portrayed negative characters during most of his career and was considered one of Kannada cinema's finest actors. Over his career, he came to be known for his "thundering voice and sterling performance[s]" that earned him the epithets, Nata Bhairava and Nata Bhayankara.
Singanalluru Puttaswamaiah Muthuraj, better known by his stage name Dr. Rajkumar, was an Indian actor, singer and producer who worked in Kannada cinema. Through his over five-decade long career of over 200 films, he was regarded one of the most pivotal and influential figures of the Kannada film industry. His films were praised for acting as a bridge between the popular and art films because of the theme of the story and their treatment. He debuted as a child actor in the 1942 Kannada film Bhakta Prahlada. His first role as an adult came in Sri Srinivasa Kalyana (1952) and as a lead, two years later, in Bedara Kannappa, which gave him stardom. He debuted as a singer with the track Om Namaha Shivaya from the 1956 film Ohileshwara. In 1960, he made his debut as a producer by producing Ranadheera Kanteerava. According to Ashish Rajadhyaksha and Paul Willemen in the book Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema, Ranadheera Kanteerava was the first "big hit" in Kannada cinema. In a film career spanning fifty years, Rajkumar received eleven Karnataka State Film Awards, including nine Best Actor and two Best Singer awards, eight Filmfare Awards South, and one National Film Award. Along with Vishnuvardhan and Ambareesh, he is counted in Kannada cinema's "triumvirate" as its most celebrated actor.
Satya Harischandra is a 1965 Indian Kannada epic film directed by Hunsur Krishnamurthy and produced by K. V. Reddy. It stars Dr. Rajkumar in the lead role, as Harishchandra, an Indian mythological king, who was renowned for upholding truth and justice under any circumstance. The film is based on poet Raghavanka's work, Harishchandra Kavya. The supporting cast features Udaykumar, Pandari Bai, Narasimharaju, M. P. Shankar, K. S. Ashwath and Baby Padmini. This was the second Kannada movie based on king Harishchandra, the first one being the 1943 movie Satya Harishchandra.
Singeetam Srinivasa Rao is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer, composer, and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the most versatile filmmakers of India. He is credited with having revolutionised the South Indian cinema with experimental films. He has directed about sixty films in Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Hindi, and English languages across multiple genres. He has garnered two National Film Awards, five Nandi Awards, three Karnataka State Film Awards, and three Filmfare Awards South. In 2011, Rao was honored with Life Achievement Award from the Film Federation of India.
Advani Lakshmi Devi is a retired Indian actress known for her work in Kannada cinema. She has played a variety of roles such as heroine, vamp, mother, grandmother in hundreds of Kannada movies over the last 50 years. Her role in films Gandhada Gudi (1973) and Sri Srinivasa Kalyana (1974) as mother is much remembered. She is the mother of veteran actress Roopadevi who acted in many Kannada movies with Rajkumar such as Haalu Jenu (1982), Samayada Gombe (1984) and Yarivanu (1984). Rajkumar holds the distinction of having played hero and son's role with her. Rajkumar] holds the distinction of having played the hero to both Roopadevi and her mother Advani Lakshmi Devi. Lakshmi Devi recently honoured with Rajkumar lifetime achievement award 2016 by the state government of Karnataka.
Nanjundi Kalyana is a 1989 Indian Kannada-language romantic comedy film, directed by M. S. Rajashekar, starring newcomers Raghavendra Rajkumar and Malashri, with Girija Lokesh and Sundar Krishna Urs as the lead cast. The film was a major blockbuster of the year and was one among the biggest grossing Kannada films of 1989. The movie saw a theatrical run of 90 weeks.
B. Vijaya Reddy, better known as Vijay Reddy or Vijay, was an Indian film director who worked primarily in Kannada cinema with over 50 movies to his credit. His debut directorial venture was Rangamahal Rahasya (1970). He was known for his collaborations with leading Kannada actor Rajkumar for movies like Gandhada Gudi (1973), Mayura (1975), Naa Ninna Mareyalare (1976) and Sanaadi Appanna (1977) which are considered among the classic movies of Kannada cinema.
Upendra Kumar was an Indian composer who predominantly worked in Kannada and Odia films. He was known for his strong association with Rajkumar and his family and scored some of his career best compositions for the films featuring Rajkumar and his sons. He had scored for 210 films including Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Tulu films.
Parvathamma Rajkumar was an Indian film producer and distributor. She was the wife and cousin of veteran Kannada actor Dr. Rajkumar. She produced successful films featuring him and their sons Shiva Rajkumar, Puneeth Rajkumar and Raghavendra Rajkumar under the production house named "Poornima Enterprises". Actresses who found fame in her productions include Malashri, Prema, Rakshita, Sudha Rani and Ramya. She was awarded a doctorate by Bangalore University.
Haalu Jenu is a 1982 Indian Kannada-language tragicomedy film directed by Singeetham Srinivasa Rao, starring Rajkumar, Madhavi and Roopa Devi. The movie is famous for its evergreen songs, which were composed by G. K. Venkatesh. The movie was remade in Telugu in 1985 as Illale Devata.
Sri Srinivasa Kalyana, is 1974 Kannada-language Hindu mythological film directed by Vijay. The film which is based on lord Venkateswara, stars Rajkumar, B. Saroja Devi and Manjula. It also featured the first screen appearances of future actors and Rajkumar's sons, Shiva Rajkumar and Raghavendra Rajkumar. The movie was dubbed in Tamil as Ezhumalaiyan Dharisanam and in Telugu as Sri Tirupatikshetra Mahatyam (1977).
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, P. Ravi Shankar, Rangayana Raghu, Chikkanna and Avinash, 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.
Mavinakere Srinivasayyangar Cheluvayyangar, better known by his stage name Sampath, was an Indian actor known for his work in Kannada cinema as a character actor. After beginning his career with a Tamil film Rajalakshmi in the 1930s, Sampath took a break, before working in Kannada and English plays for a major part of 1940s. His Kannada film debut with Bharathi (1949). Some of his notable films include Gandhada Gudi (1973), Sri Srinivasa Kalyana (1974), Bhakta Kumbara (1974), Eradu Kanasu (1974) and Badavara Bandhu (1976).
Raja Shankar or Rajashankar was an Indian actor in Kannada cinema. His films include Bhakta Kumbara (1974), Sampathige Saval (1974) and Sri Srinivasa Kalyana (1974). He also co-produced the 1974 Kannada movie Bangaarada Panjara starring Dr. Rajkumar and the 1976 Kannada movie Vijaya Vani.
B. R. Latha, popularly known as Bangalore Latha, was an Indian singer who worked in south Indian film industry, mainly in Kannada and Telugu.
M. Jayashree, was an Indian actress who worked mainly in Kannada films. She is known for her supporting roles in such movies including Rayara Sose (1957), Naagarahaavu (1972), Eradu Kanasu and Sri Srinivasa Kalyana.
