K. S. Sowmya, better known by her stage name Soundarya, was an Indian actress who worked predominantly in Telugu films and has also worked in Kannada, Tamil, Hindi and Malayalam films. In 2002, she received the National Film Award for Best Feature Film as a producer for the Kannada film Dweepa. She has also received Three Nandi Awards, Two Karnataka State Film Awards for Best Actress and Six Filmfare Awards South for her performances in films such as Ammoru (1994), Pavitra Bandham (1996), Anthahpuram (1998), Raja (1999), Doni Saagali (1998), Dweepa (2002) and Apthamitra (2004).
Girish Karnad was an Indian actor, film director, Kannada writer, playwright and a Jnanpith awardee, who predominantly worked in South Indian cinema and Bollywood. His rise as a playwright in the 1960s marked the coming of age of modern Indian playwriting in Kannada, just as Badal Sarkar did in Bengali, Vijay Tendulkar in Marathi, and Mohan Rakesh in Hindi. He was a recipient of the 1998 Jnanpith Award, the highest literary honour conferred in India.
Sherin Shringar, known by her stage name Sherin or Shirin is an Indian actress, who has appeared in Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Telugu-language films. After making her debut in Kannada films, her notable films include Thulluvadho Ilamai (2002), and Whistle (2003). In 2019, Sherin participated in Bigg Boss Tamil season 3 and emerged as the 3rd runner up.
Sampath Kumar, known by his stage name Vishnuvardhan, was an Indian actor predominantly in Kannada cinema. He is regarded as one of the popular cultural icon of Karnataka. Vishnuvardhan is often referred to as Sahasa Simha and The Angry Young Man of Kannada Cinema. He appeared in more than 220 films all together in Kannada, Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu. He was called The Phoenix of Indian Cinema. He made his debut in the 1972 National Award winning film, Vamsha Vriksha, in a supporting role. The same year he played the lead role in Puttanna Kanagal's Naagarahaavu which was his breakthrough and he had won Filmfare Special Jury Award. He won Karnataka State Film Awards & Filmfare Awards South for best performance.
Ramya Krishnan, also credited as Ramya Krishna is an Indian actress. She has appeared in over 260 films in five languages: Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, and Hindi. Ramya has won four Filmfare Awards, three Nandi Awards and a Tamil Nadu State Film Award Special Prize.
Saritha is an Indian actress who has acted in more than 500 films in Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu languages. She was one of the popular and critically acclaimed lead actresses during the 1980s. She also appeared in a television serial, Selvi. She is also credited as a dubbing artist. She has dubbed her voice for Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Telugu movies for actresses like Nagma, Vijayashanti, Tabu, Sushmita Sen, Ramya Krishnan and Soundarya in 1990s.
Divya Spandana, better known by her screen name Ramya, is an Indian actress and politician. She served as the Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha from Mandya, Karnataka. She primarily works in Kannada, alongside Tamil language films. Ramya is the recipient of two Filmfare Awards South, an Udaya Award, and a Karnataka State Film Award.
Daisy Bopanna is an Indian actress who appears in Kannada, Hindi, Telugu and Tamil language films.
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.
Kavitha Lankesh is an Indian film director, screenwriter and a lyricist known for her work in Kannada cinema industry. She began as a documentary film-maker before directing her first feature film, Deveeri (1999), which went on to win international, national and state awards. She is considered to be one of the renowned film-makers of Kannada cinema. She has directed and produced more than fifty documentaries/informational films and more than forty corporate films. Some of the films Kavitha directed have won awards and accolades from critics.
Benkiyalli Aralida Hoovu is a 1983 Indian Kannada language film directed by K. Balachander and produced by Chandulal Jain. It revolves around Kavitha (Suhasini) who wonders when she will have time to live her own life, as she is too busy taking care of her mother, siblings, and her alcoholic brother's family. It was also the official Kannada debut of South Indian refining star of the 80s & 90s eras, Suhasini.
K. M. Chaitanya is a film director, documentary maker and theater person. His first feature film Aa dinagalu in Kannada, won several awards including the Filmfare Awards South for Best Director and Best Feature Film in 2007. Chaitanya also won awards for Best Debutant Director by the South Indian Cinematographers' Association, Chennai Film Fans Association and Raghavendra Chitravani Award. Aa Dinagalu was listed by The Week among the top 10 Indian films of 2007. Chaitanya studied Journalism at Christ College.
Appu is a 2002 Indian Kannada-language romantic action comedy film directed by Puri Jagannadh. It stars Puneeth Rajkumar and Rakshita. The supporting cast features Avinash, Srinivasa Murthy and Sumithra. The film was produced by Puneeth's mother, Parvathamma under Poornima Enterprises, the production banner of the Rajkumar family. It marked the screen debut Puneeth and Rakshita in lead roles.
Anuradha, known by her stage name Tara, is an Indian actress, known for her work in Kannada cinema and politics. She joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2009 and is currently a nominated member of the Karnataka Legislative Council.
Malgudi Days is an Indian television series that started in 1986, and was filmed in both English and Hindi, based on the 1943 short story collection of the same name by R. K. Narayan. The series was directed by Kannada actor and director Shankar Nag. Carnatic musician L. Vaidyanathan composed the score, while R.K. Narayan's younger brother and acclaimed cartoonist R. K. Laxman was the sketch artist. The series was made by film producer T.S. Narasimhan. In 2006, the series was revived for an additional 15 episodes, which were directed by Kavitha Lankesh.
Kempe Gowda is a 2011 Kannada-language action film starring Sudeepa and Ragini Dwivedi in the lead roles. The film was directed by Sudeepa and produced by Shankar Gowda. It is a remake of the Tamil-language film Singam directed by Hari. Arjun Janya has composed the music. A namesake sequel titled Kempegowda 2 was released in 2019.
Nandini Ramanna, better known by her stage name Bhavana Ramanna, is an Indian actress who works predominantly in the Kannada film industry. A Bharatanatyam dancer, she has received three Karnataka State Film Awards and acted in Shanti, a film that entered the Guinness Book of Records. Bhavana Ramanna is the director of HomeTown Productions, a production house that conducts dance and music shows. In the run-up to the 2014 general elections, Bhavana Ramanna was named one of the star campaigners for the Congress party in Karnataka, a role she had performed in the 2013 assembly elections in the state. Bhavana Ramanna was reported as being among the contenders for a nomination to the upper house of the Karnataka legislature as an MLC.
Mysore Mallige is a 1992 Indian Kannada-language drama film directed and co-written by T. S. Nagabharana and produced by Srihari Khoday. The story is based on a 1942 work of the same title by the acclaimed poet K. S. Narasimhaswamy. The film was an attempt to create a story based on the poetry.
The 50th Filmfare Awards South ceremony honouring the winners and nominees of the best of South Indian cinema in films released 2002, is an event that was held at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium, Hyderabad, 24 May 2003. The awards were distributed at Hyderabad.
The 26th Filmfare Awards South ceremony honoring the winners of the best of South Indian cinema in 1978 was an event held on 10 June 1979 at Kalaivanar Arangam in Madras.
