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 among 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.
Sangharsh (transl. Struggle) is a 1999 Indian Hindi-language psychological horror thriller film directed by Tanuja Chandra. It stars Akshay Kumar, Preity Zinta, and Ashutosh Rana. Alia Bhatt, who would later be an established Bollywood actress in the 2010s, made a cameo as a child artist in this film, playing the younger version of Zinta's character. The film was said to be based on the 1991 film The Silence of The Lambs, but Chandra rejected this, claiming the film was based on a similar lost police case in India. The film opened to positive reviews, with critical acclaim for the performances by Kumar and Zinta, as well as Rana's villainous turn.
Ashwini Bhave is an Indian model and actress known for her work in both Hindi, Kannada and Marathi-language films and television serials. Born and raised in India, she lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Tarka is a 1989 Indian Kannada-language mystery-thriller film, produced by Praveen and directed and written by Sunil Kumar Desai based on Agatha Christie's 1958 play The Unexpected Guest. It is the first film noir in Kannada cinema, and the first Kannada film to be made without songs, dance, or stunt sequences. The film stars Shankar Nag, Devaraj and Vanitha Vasu in lead roles along with Avinash, Shivaraj and Praveen Nayak in supporting roles. The film revolves around an escaped convict who finds the body of a man in his childhood friend's house.
Sabse Bada Khiladi is a 1995 Indian action thriller film directed by Umesh Mehra and starring Akshay Kumar, Mamta Kulkarni, Mohnish Behl, Gulshan Grover and Sadashiv Amrapurkar. It was the third installment in the Khiladi film series of films that had Akshay in the lead after Khiladi and Main Khiladi Tu Anari and was the first Khiladi film to be directed by Mehra and produced by Keshu Ramsay who went on to collaborate for Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi and International Khiladi and Khiladi 420. The film was a commercial success at the box office and was the sixth highest-grossing Indian film of 1995.
Aaptharakshaka is a 2010 Kannada horror film directed by P. Vasu and written by V. R. Bhaskar. The film stars Vishnuvardhan in his 200th Kannada film and posthumous film, along with an ensemble cast including Vimala Raman, Sandhya, Bhavana Ramanna, Avinash, Lakshmi Gopalaswamy, and Komal Kumar. The film is a sequel to the 2004 Kannada blockbuster film Apthamitra also directed by P. Vasu.
Adaalat (transl. Court) is an Indian television courtroom drama anthology series about a defence attorney, K.D. Pathak, portrayed by Ronit Roy. The first season of the show premiered on Sony Entertainment Television on 20 November 2010 and ran for five years, ending on 11 July 2015. The show aired 431 episodes in its first season. Adaalat returned for its second season on Sony Entertainment Television on 4 June 2016 and ended on 4 September 2016. The show aired 26 episodes in its second season.
Mr. Bond is a 1992 Indian Hindi action film directed by Raj Sippy released on 16 April 1992. It stars Akshay Kumar, Sheeba, Ruchika Pandey, Vaishali Sood, making her debut and Pankaj Dheer, and was written by Iqbal Durrani.
Sainik is a 1993 Indian action film directed by Sikandar Bharti. The film stars Akshay Kumar, Ashwini Bhave, Ronit Roy, Farheen in pivotal roles.
Paandav is a 1995 Indian Hindi-language action drama film directed by Raj N. Sippy. It stars Akshay Kumar, Pankaj Dheer and Nandini in lead roles.
Vishnuvardhana is a 2011 Indian Kannada language comedy thriller film directed by Pon Kumaran in his directorial debut and produced by Dwarakish. It stars Sudeepa, Bhavana Menon, Priyamani and Sonu Sood. The music was composed by V. Harikrishna.
Bachchan is a 2013 Indian Kannada-language psychological action film directed by Shashank and starring Sudeepa, Parul Yadav, Jagapathi Babu, Bhavana, and Tulip Joshi in the lead roles The musical score and soundtrack were composed by V. Harikrishna and cinematography was handled by Shekar Chandru.
Vishnu Sena is a 2005 Indian Kannada-language action drama film directed by Naganna and produced by M. Govinda. The film stars Vishnuvardhan along with Ramesh Aravind, Lakshmi Gopalaswamy and Gurleen Chopra in the prominent roles. The film had a musical score and soundtrack composed by Deva. The film is a remake of 2002 Tamil movie Ramanaa.
This is the filmography of Indian film actor Sampath Kumar, known as Vishnuvardhan.
Madam X is a 1994 Indian Hindi-language crime drama film directed by Deepak Shivdasani and featuring Rekha, Mohsin Khan, Shakti Kapoor and Raza Murad in important roles.
Salute is a 2009 Indian Kannada-language film directed by B. C. Patil starring himself, Ashwini, Ashok Kheni and K V Nagesh Kumar in lead roles.
