Kannada cinema, also known as Sandalwood, or Chandanavana, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Kannada language widely spoken in the state of Karnataka. The 1934 film Sati Sulochana directed by Y. V. Rao was the first talkie film in the Kannada language. It was also the first film starring Subbaiah Naidu and Tripuramba, and was the first motion picture screened in the erstwhile Mysore Kingdom. The film was produced by Chamanlal Doongaji, who in 1932 founded South India Movietone in Bangalore.
Puneeth Rajkumar, colloquially known as Appu was an Indian actor, philanthropist, playback singer, television presenter and producer, who worked in Kannada cinema. He was the youngest son of actor and matinee idol Dr. Rajkumar. He was one of the most popular actors in Kannada cinema. He appeared as a lead in 32 films. As a child, he appeared in many films. His performances as a child actor in Vasantha Geetha (1980), Bhagyavantha (1981), Chalisuva Modagalu (1982), Eradu Nakshatragalu (1983), Bhakta Prahaladha (1983), Yarivanu (1984) and Bettada Hoovu (1985) were praised. He won the National Film Award for Best Child Artist for his role of Ramu in Bettada Hoovu. He also won Karnataka State Award Best Child artist for Chalisuva Modagalu and Eradu Nakshatragalu. Puneeth's first lead role was in 2002's Appu. In a career spanning three decades, he has won one National Film Award, four Karnataka State Film Awards, six Filmfare Awards South and five SIIMA awards. He was conferred with the Doctorate by Mysuru University. The Karnataka Government conferred the state's highest civilian award, Karnataka Ratna, to Puneeth Rajkumar on 1 November 2022, posthumously.
Ramesh Aravind is an Indian actor, director, screenwriter and television presenter who works in Kannada films and television. Aravind has appeared in over 140 films including several Tamil-language films. He has won and been nominated for numerous awards. He has won Filmfare Awards for Best Actor and Karnataka State Awards for Best Actor. He received Best Story Award for his script for Hoomale. He has won Udaya TV award and Suvarna TV awards.
Vijay Prakash is an Indian Playback singer and also a Music director from Karnataka. He has given his voice for predominantly Kannada, Tamil, and Telugu language films, in addition to Hindi, Malayalam and Marathi language films. He has also performed shows with Zakir Hussain. Prakash won the Karnataka Government's 'Best Playback Singer' award for the year 2016 for the song "Nammooralli Chaligaladalli" from the film Beautiful Manasugalu.
Arasu (Search/King) is a 2007 Indian Kannada-language romantic drama film directed by Mahesh Babu. It features Puneeth Rajkumar in the title role as the son of a business tycoon who leaves his inherited wealth to make a living on his own upon being rejected by a girl played by Ramya who he proposes to in marriage. When a middle-class girl played by Meera Jasmine enters their lives, it soon turns out to be a love triangle. Srinivasa Murthy, Komal and Adi Lokesh appear in supporting roles. Kannada film actors Darshan and Aditya made cameo appearance. Actress Shriya Saran also made a cameo appearance in the film, her first Kannada language film. The movie was dubbed in Hindi as Zinda Dili and in Marathi as Premachi Satva Pariksha.
Kalla Malla Sulla is a 2011 multi-starrer Kannada film in the comedy genre starring V. Ravichandran, Ramesh Aravind, Vijay Raghavendra in the lead roles. The film has been directed and written by Udhaya Prakash and produced by K. Manju. Alex Paul has composed the music. This is a remake of the successful 2002 Tamil film Charlie Chaplin.
Encounter is an Indian crime television series, produced by Endemol India for Sony Entertainment Television. Its central plot was based on 35 encounters in Mumbai over 35 one-hour episodes.
Katthegalu Saar Katthegalu is a 2003 Indian Kannada-language comedy film directed by Rajendra Singh Babu. The film stars Ramesh Aravind, S. Narayan, Komal Kumar, Meghana Naidu and Urvashi. This is the third film in the "Saar" series directed by Babu and was released on 28 March 2003 and received generally positive reviews from the critics.
Kurigalu Saar Kurigalu is a 2001 Indian Kannada-language comedy film directed and written by Rajendra Singh Babu. The film stars Ramesh Aravind, S. Narayan, Mohan, Bhavana, Ruchita Prasad and Ananth Nag in the lead roles. This is the first film in the Saar series directed by Babu and was released on 23 March 2001 and received generally positive reviews from the critics and turned out to be box-office hit.
Rachita Ram is an Indian actress who primarily works in Kannada films. After appearing in various television shows, Rachita made her film debut with the 2013 film, Bulbul, for which she received Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Kannada nomination. Rachita has won various awards including one Filmfare Award South and three SIIMA Awards.
Puneeth Rajkumar was an Indian actor known for his work in Kannada films. As a six-month-old infant, he made a cameo appearance in V. Somashekar's Premada Kanike (1976) and followed it with Sanaadi Appanna (1977) when he was a year old. Most of his earlier films had his father Rajkumar playing his reel father as well. Films like Thayige Thakka Maga, Vasantha Geetha and Bhagyavantha followed up which also showcased his singing skills. For the N. Lakshminarayan film Bettada Hoovu he was awarded the National Film Award for Best Child Artist. He ended his childhood appearances with the action film Parashuram.
Drama Juniors is an Indian Kannada-language talent search reality television show. It is a talent show where children showcase their acting skills and impress the judges through various skits. The first season aired on 30 April 2016. It started airing on Zee Kannada and digitally on Zee5. Directed by Anil Kumar J, writers are Keerthi Narayan, Aanand, Suniel, Lokesh, Sharanappa, Nithin Ramachandra and Mentors are Ganapa, Vijay Shetty, Manjunath Badiger, Chandrashekar. The fifth season of the Kannada reality show Drama Juniors premiered on November 18, 2023, on Zee Kannada. The show airs on Saturdays and Sundays at 9 PM
Pradyumna Narahalli, is an Indian actor, lyricist, writer, RJ, director and producer, known primarily for his work in Kannada television and cinema.
Bigg Boss is an Indian reality show franchise based on the Dutch reality show Big Brother. It is produced by Endemol Shine India through Viacom18 and Disney Star Networks. Subsequently, the various versions of the show are made internationally available through the OTT platforms Voot, JioCinema, and Disney+ Hotstar with 24/7 Live Stream.
James is a 2022 Indian Kannada-language action drama film written and directed by Chethan Kumar. It stars Puneeth Rajkumar in the titlular role, along with an ensemble cast of R. Sarathkumar, Srikanth, Priya Anand, Anu Prabhakar, Madhusudhan Rao, Mukesh Rishi, Adithya Menon, Avinash, Sadhu Kokila, Chikkanna and John Kokken. This is Puneeth's posthumous appearance following his death on 29 October 2021. The film marked the second collaboration between Puneeth, Priya and Sarathkumar after Raajakumara (2017). The film score and soundtrack were composed by V. Harikrishna and Charan Raj respectively.
PRK Productions is an Indian film production company founded by Puneeth Rajkumar and managed by his wife, Ashwini Puneeth Rajkumar.
Yuvarathnaa is the soundtrack album composed by S. Thaman for the 2021 Indian Kannada-language film of the same name, starring Puneeth Rajkumar. The film marks Thaman's third collaboration with Puneeth after working with him in Power (2014) and Chakravyuha (2016).
Hostel Hudugaru Bekagiddare is an Indian Kannada-language black comedy film directed by Nithin Krishnamurthy in his directorial debut and presented by Rakshit Shetty under Paramvah Pictures banner. The film stars debutants Prajwal BP, Manjunath Nayaka, Rakesh Rajkumar, Srivatsa and Tejas Jayanna Urs, while Rishab Shetty, Pawan Kumar, Shine Shetty and Ramya make cameo appearances. It was partially reshot in Telugu as Boys Hostel, where Rashmi Gautam and Tharun Bhascker replaced Ramya and Diganth respectively.
