Babukodi Venkataramana Karanth widely known as B. V. Karanth was an Indian film director, playwright, actor, screenwriter, composer, and dramatist known for his works in the Kannada theatre, Kannada cinema, and Hindi cinema. One of the pioneers of the Parallel Cinema, Karanth was an alumnus of the National School of Drama (1962) and later, its Director. He received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1976), six National Film Awards, and the civilian honor Padma Shri for his contributions towards the field of art.
Shankar Nagarakatte was an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, and producer known for his work in Kannada-language films and television. A popular cultural icon of Karnataka, Nag is often referred to as Karate King. He directed the teleserial Malgudi Days, based on novelist R. K. Narayan's short stories and acted in some episodes as well. He won two National Film Awards, four Karnataka State Film Awards and two Filmfare Award South.
Anant Nagarkatte is an Indian actor whose predominant contribution has been in Kannada cinema. He has acted in over 300 films which include over 200 Kannada films as well as Hindi, Telugu, Marathi, Malayalam and English films. He has featured in theatre plays, parallel cinema and television shows.
National School of Drama (NSD) is a theatre training institute situated at New Delhi, India. It is an autonomous organization under Ministry of Culture, Government of India. It was set up in 1959 by the Sangeet Natak Akademi and became an independent school in 1975. In 2005, it was granted deemed university status, but in 2011 it was revoked. Paresh Rawal is the current Chairperson & Chittaranjan Tripathy currently serves as Director of National School of Drama (NSD).
Mayuri Upadhya is an Indian choreographer, dancer, entrepreneur and TV personality based in Bengaluru, India. She is also the Artistic Director of the Bengaluru-based dance organisation, Nritarutya.
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.
Ranga Shankara is one of Bangalore's well known theatres. It is located in the south Bangalore area of J.P Nagar and is run by the Sanket Trust. The auditorium, which opened in 2004, was envisioned by Arundathi Nag, in remembrance of her late husband, Shankar Nag, who was a renowned actor in the Kannada film industry.
Darshan Thoogudeepa known mononymously as Darshan is an Indian actor, producer, and distributor who works predominantly in Kannada films. One of the leading contemporary actors of Kannada cinema, Darshan established the production house Thoogudeepa Productions in 2006. Its first production was Jothe Jotheyali, with Darshan in a special appearance. His performances in Anatharu (2007) and Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna (2012) won him praise from critics; his performance in the latter as the 19th-century warrior Sangolli Rayanna won him the Karnataka State Film Award for Best Actor.
Prabhath Kalavidaru is a theatre group based in Bangalore, India. Started in the year 1930, this group has staged many drama performances and is famous for its ballets. One of the most popular of their ballets is Cinderella, based on the English fairy tale and since 1977, has been staged more than a thousand times by the troupe.
Ramesh Bhat is a multiple-award–winning Indian actor. He has worked predominantly in Kannada films and television serials.
Bharat Rang Mahotsav (BRM) or the National Theatre Festival, started in 1999, is the annual theatre festival organised by National School of Drama (NSD), New Delhi. The festival was started to showcase works of Indian theatre practitioners, and it has grown over the years to attract international performers as well. National School of Drama is India's premier theatre training institute funded by Govt. of India.
Vaishali Kasaravalli was a noted Kannada actress, television serial director, and costume designer.
Vidyasagar, known by his stage name Rajesh, was an Indian actor who appeared in Kannada films. Known as 'Kala Thapaswi', Rajesh was an ardent fan of literature. He appeared in many films as the lead in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later on gravitated to strong character roles. He is the father of film actress Aasha Rani who acted in Rathasapthami with Shivrajkumar and the father-in-law of popular Kannada and Tamil actor Arjun Sarja.
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.
G. K. Govinda Rao was a writer, intellectual, professor of English and Kannada film actor from Karnataka, India.
Kirtana Kumar is an Indian actor, director, and film-maker based in Bengaluru. She writes on theatre and film and has been published in various national papers and magazines. She has a master's degree in European Classics and American Literature. She has received several major awards and fellowships including from the McArthur Foundation and India Foundation for the Arts for her contribution to theatre & film. She was educated at Sophia High School, Bangalore. She is a trustee of Women Artists' Group, runs the year long Theatre Lab for children and is the co-owner of Infinite Souls Farm, a rural artists residency in Bangalore.
Vijay Kumar Basavarajaiah, known by his stage name Sanchari Vijay, was an Indian actor known for his work in Kannada cinema. He began his career as a stage actor. He trained on stage from Sanchari Theatre, a culture centre with its own drama troupe, based in Bangalore.
The Anti-Hindi agitations of Karnataka were a series of agitations which occurred in the Indian state of Karnataka. On 14 September 2019, several Kannada activists and outfits marched from Townhall to Freedom Park in Bengaluru to protest the celebration of Hindi Divas in the state.
Padmavati Rao, credited as Akshatha Rao in Kannada films, is an Indian actress, theatre personality, poet, dancer and translator. She is known for her theatre activities and performances in movies including Ondanondu Kaladalli (1978),Geetha (1981),Pardes (1997), Padmaavat (2018) and Tanhaji (2020).
Abhishek Iyengar is an Indian playwright and theatre director. He is a co-founder of Bangalore-based theatre company WeMove Theatre. He writes play in Kannada and English.
