Srinivasa Nayaka,also popularly known as Purandara Dasa was a composer, singer and a Haridasa philosopher from present-day Karnataka, India. He was a follower of Madhvacharya's Dvaita philosophy. He was one of the chief founding proponents of Carnatic music. In honor of his significant contributions to Carnatic music, he is widely referred to as the Pitamaha of Carnatic music. According to a legend, he is considered as an incarnation of Narada.
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 actors in the history of Indian cinema and a versatile actor, 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 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.
Kanaka Dasa (1509–1609) was a Haridasa saint and philosopher of Dvaita Vedanta, also known as Daasashreshta Kanakadasa from present-day Karnataka, India. He was a follower of Madhvacharya's Dvaita philosophy and a disciple of Vyasatirtha. He was a composer of Carnatic music, poet, reformer and musician. He is known for his keertanas and ugabhoga, and his compositions in the Kannada language for Carnatic music. Like other Haridasas, he used simple Kannada and native metrical forms for his compositions.
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.
The Haridasa Bhakti Sahitya devotional movement (sampradaya) originated in Karnataka, India, after Madhvacharya, and spread to eastern states such as Bengal and Assam of medieval India. Over a span of nearly six centuries, several saints and mystics helped shape the culture, philosophy and art of South India in general and Karnataka in particular by exerting considerable spiritual influence over the masses and kingdoms that ruled South India.
Milana (transl. Rendezvous) is a 2007 Indian Kannada-language romantic comedy drama film co-written and directed by Prakash, starring Puneeth Rajkumar, and Parvathy Thiruvothu in lead roles. The film was Parvathy's debut in Kannada cinema. The movie also features Pooja Gandhi, Dileep Raj, Sumithra and Mukhyamantri Chandru in prominent roles. Music for the film was composed by Mano Murthy.
Singeetam Srinivasa Rao, commonly known as Singeetam, is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer, composer, and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the most versatile directors 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.
Maathaad Maathaadu Mallige, is a 2007 Kannada-language film directed by Nagathihalli Chandrashekhar starring Vishnuvardhan. The film depicts the challenges faced by the people living in rural areas of India.
Prithvi is a 2010 Indian Kannada language action drama film directed by Jacob Varghese, produced by N.S Rajkumar, starring Puneeth Rajkumar and Parvathy in lead roles. Manikanth Kadri composed the music of the film. The movie was dubbed in Malayalam with the same title.
Gandugali Kumara Rama is a 2006 Indian Kannada-language biographical film based on the life of Kumara Rama, who is considered to be the warrior prince prior to the establishment of the Vijayanagara Empire. Directed by H. R. Bhargava and produced by Anitha Pattabhiram, the film threads the path of a novel written by Su. Rudramurthy Shastry. The film stars Shiva Rajkumar in dual roles with Rambha, Laya and Anita Hassanandani in pivotal roles. It was during the filming of this movie that Shivrajkumar's father and veteran actor Rajkumar died.
S. A. Chinne Gowda is an Indian film producer and distributor of Kannada films.
Roopa, known as Roopa Devi is an Indian actress who has acted in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films. She is the daughter of Kalyanam Raghuramaiah and veteran actress Advani Lakshmi Devi. She became famous as the debutante heroine of the tragic romantic film Oru Thalai Ragam in Tamil that ran for 365 days in which she was paired with newcomer Shankar. For her performance in the movie Avala Antharanga, Roopa won the Karnataka State Film Award for Best Actress in 1984–85.
Channapatna Ramaswami Simha, better known as C. R. Simha, was an Indian actor, director, dramatist and playwright. He was best known for his work in Kannada films and for his work in stage shows. Starting his career in Prabhat Kalavidaru, a theatre group based in Bengaluru he acted in numerous Kannada plays which reached the cult status. He started his own theatre group called "Nataranga" in 1972 and directed many successful plays such as Kakana Kote, Thughlaq and Sankranthi.
Keralida Simha is a 1981 Indian Kannada-language film directed by Chi Dattaraj. The film stars Rajkumar, Saritha, Thoogudeepa Srinivas, Pandari Bai and Srinivasa Murthy. The movie was produced by P. H. Ramarao in the banner of Sri Rajarajeshwari Film combines. The movie was recorded a Blockbuster at the box office and had a theatrical run of over 100 days in multiple centres.
Shivam is an 2015 Indian Kannada action thriller film written and directed by Srinivas Raju and produced by C. R. Manohar. It stars Upendra, Saloni Aswani, Ragini Dwivedi, Makarand Deshpande, Sharath Lohitashwa, P. Ravi Shankar and Srinivasa Murthy.
Kranthiyogi Basavanna is a 1983 Indian Kannada-language film, directed by K. S. L. Swamy (Ravee). The film stars Ashok, Aarathi, Srinivasa Murthy, Manjula, Hema Chowdhary. The film has musical score by M. Ranga Rao. This movie is about life of one of the greatest social reformer of India Vishwa Guru Basavanna. He is the founder of Lingayat religion. Basavanna was first on earth to come up with idea of a parliament. In 12th century, Basavanna formed the first parliament in the world called "Anubhava Mantapa".
Balasubramaniam (1937–1990), know by his screen name Dinesh, was an Indian actor known for his work in Kannada cinema. Notably, he acted in Bhootayyana Maga Ayyu (1974), Golmaal Radhakrishna (1990), S. P. Sangliyana Part 2 (1990) and Seetharamu (1979).
Rajatantra is a 2021 Indian Kannada-language film directed by PVR Swamy in his directorial debut. The film stars Raghavendra Rajkumar. P.V.R. Swamy previously worked as a cinematographer for Raghavendra Rajkumar's Ammana Mane (2019). The film was the first release of 2021.
