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. Kannada cinema is based in Gandhi Nagar, Bangalore. The 1934 film Sati Sulochana directed by Y. V. Rao was the first talkie film to release 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, affectionately known as Appu by his fans, after his first lead role in the movie 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.
Malavalli Huchchegowda Amarnath, known by his screen name Ambareesh, was an Indian actor, media personality, politician from the state of Karnataka. Alongside Rajkumar and Vishnuvardhan, he is counted in Kannada cinema's "triumvirate" as its most celebrated actor.
Divya Spandana, better known by her screen name Ramya, is an Indian actress, producer and politician. She served as the Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha from Mandya, Karnataka. She primarily works in Kannada, and Tamil language films. Ramya was the recipient of two Filmfare Awards South, an Udaya Award, and a Karnataka State Film Award.
Sumalatha is an Indian actress, politician who is the current Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha from Mandya, Karnataka. She has acted in more than 220 films in Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil and Hindi. She gained popularity in Telugu cinema and Malayalam cinema and later married Kannada actor-politician Ambareesh and has a son Abhishek Gowda.
Yash is an Indian actor who works in Kannada films. He is the recipient of three Filmfare Awards South and two SIIMA-Kannada acting awards.
Devegowda Javaregowda, known as De Ja Gou or simply Javaregowda, was an Indian Kannada writer, folklorist, researcher, scholar and academic. He was disciple of authors T.N. Srikantaiah and Kuvempu. His literary career spans over decades in which he wrote over thirty-four biographies in Kannada language and other works including children's literature. He campaigned for the promotion of Kannada language. He had received Pampa Prashasti (1998), Padma Shri (2001) and the Karnataka Ratna (2008) awards for his contributions in literature and education. He became a centenarian in 2015 and died on 30 May 2016.
Saarathi is a 2011 Indian Kannada-language romantic action film written and directed by Dinakar Thoogudeep. It stars Darshan and debutante Deepa Sannidhi in the lead roles. V. Harikrishna scored for the film's background and its soundtrack, while the lyrics were penned by V. Nagendra Prasad.
Karnataka State Film Award for Best Supporting Actor is a state film award of the Indian state of Karnataka given during the annual Karnataka State Film Awards. The award honours Kannada language films.
Shiva, known by his screen name Sathish Ninasam, is an Indian actor who appears in Kannada films. Having made his film debut with Madesha (2008), Sathish appeared in small but significant roles in films like Manasaare (2009), Pancharangi (2010), Lifeu Ishtene (2011) and Anna Bond (2012). He shot to fame after his performance in Drama (2012). Sathish marked his debut as a hero in his 2013 film Lucia, which received critical acclaim nationally and internationally. His performance received rave reviews all over India.
Muddu Manase is a 2015 Indian Kannada romance drama film directed by Ananth Shain. It stars Aru Gowda, Nithya Ram and Aishwarya Nag in lead roles, the former two of whom made their debuts with the film. Achyuth Kumar, Padmaja Rao and Padmini Prakash feature in supporting roles. The film tells the story of a love triangle around Suresh (Gowda), and how he goes about dealing with his old lover as he falls in love with another girl in different circumstances and time. The title of the film which translates to "sweet mind", was taken from a track of the 2002 Kannada film Majestic.
Raam Reddy is an Indian film director, writer and photographer. He made his directorial debut with the 2016 Kannada film Thithi, which premiered at the 68th Locarno International Film Festival on 8 August 2015, where it won the Golden Leopard in the "Filmmakers of the Present" category as well as the First Feature award.
Happy Birthday is a 2016 Indian Kannada language romantic action film written, directed and co-produced by Mahesh Sukhadhare. It stars Sachin, making his debut, and Samskruthy Shenoy in the lead roles along with guest appearances by actors Ambareesh and Srinagar Kitty. The music of the film is composed by V. Harikrishna whilst the cinematography is by Suresh Jayakrishna.
Nikhil Kumaraswamy is an Indian actor and politician known for his work in Kannada films. He made his acting debut with the Kannada-Telugu bilingual film Jaguar (2016).
Tharle Village, also referred to as Tarle Village, is a 2016 Indian Kannada comedy drama film written and directed by KM Raghu. The film uses several actors from the 2015 Raam Reddy film Thithi, Channegowda, Thammegowda, Abhishek H.N., and Singrigowda, but is otherwise unrelated to the film.
Ere Gowda is a Kannada film director known for his award-winning Kannada movie Balekempa. He was also the screenwriter of the award-winning Kannada film Thithi directed by Raam Reddy.
Rustum is a 2019 Indian Kannada-language action crime film directed by Ravi Varma in his directorial debut. It was produced by Jayanna and Bhogendra under the banner of Jayanna Combines. The film features Shiva Rajkumar, Vivek Oberoi, Shraddha Srinath, Rachita Ram and Mayuri Kyatari in the lead roles, while Harish Uthaman, Mahendran, Arjun Gowda and Shatru appear in supporting roles.
Nathicharami is a 2018 Indian Kannada-language film written by Sandhya Rani, directed by Manjunatha Somashekara Reddy (Mansore) and produced by M. Ramesh, under the banner Tejaswini Enterprises. Jaganmohan Reddy and Shivkumar Reddy are the other producers. The music of the film is scored by Bindhu Malini. The film stars Sruthi Hariharan and Sanchari Vijay with Sharanya, Poornachandra Mysore, Balaji Manohar and Gopal Deshpande in key roles. The sound design is done by Mahavir Sabbanavar and cinematography by Guruprasad Narnad. Manasa Mustafa has designed the costumes for the film.
Yuvarathnaa is a 2021 Indian Kannada-language action drama film directed by Santhosh Ananddram and produced by Vijay Kiragandur under the banner of Hombale Films. The film stars Puneeth Rajkumar, Sayyeshaa, Dhananjay, Prakash Raj, Diganth and P. Sai Kumar. The music was composed by S. Thaman, while the cinematography and editing was handled by A. Venkatesh and Jnaanesh B. Matad respectively.
Kalidasa Kannada Meshtru is a 2019 Indian Kannada-language comedy drama film directed by Kaviraj and starring Jaggesh and Meghana Gaonkar.
