Kannada Actress Biography
Kavitha Ranjini, better known by her stage name Urvashi (Malayalam: ഉർവശി), is an Indian film actress and producer. She was a prominent lead actress during the 1980s and 1990s in Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, and Telugu films. She has dubbed in her own voice in all these languages. And she produced the film Pidakkozhi Koovunna Noottandu (1994). She won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Achuvinte Amma (2005).
Urvashi was born in Trivandrum, Kerala to actor Chavara V. P. Nair and Vijayalakshmi. Her sisters, Kalaranjini and Kalpana, are also acclaimed actresses.[1]
She fell in love with Manoj K. Jayan and married him in 2000. On 11 October 2008 it was reported that Urvashi had obtained mutual separation from her husband. The couple developed difference of opinion and filed for divorce at a court in Chennai. Later, they were separated by a court order. Their only daughter Kunjatta is now living with Manoj K. Jayan.
[edit]Acting career
She started acting films during the 1980s. Munthanai Mudichchu (Tamil, 1984), directed by K. Bhagyaraj, was her first film. Ethirppukal (Malayalam, 1985) was one of her earlier films in Malayalam. During the peak of her career, she starred in M. P. Sukumaran Nair's award-winning film Kazhakam in 1995, without taking a single penny as remuneration. She was awarded Best Actress for this role.
She was a leading Malayalam actress in the late 80s, giving performances in movies like Thalayanamanthram, Mazhavilkavadi, to name a few.
She made her debut in Tamil films with Mundhanai Mudichu (1983) with Bhagyaraj. The movie was a big hit and made Urvashi a sought-after actress in all the South Indian languages. Urvashi has also acted in many Kannada movies with top heroes like Rajkumar, Vishnuvardhan, Ravichandran and Ramesh Aravind. Her latest Kannada movie, Rama Shama Bhama (2005) with Ramesh Arvind and Kamal Haasan, was a crowd-puller and her performance was well appreciated by critics and audience.
Urvashi was also seen as the host of the game show Thanga Vettai, aired on Sun TV. She served as the host for the show for a very short time, preceded by Ramya Krishnan and succeeded by Kanika Subramaniam.
Urvashi is currently the host of a successful "Ladies Show" on Surya TV Channel known as Rani Maharani.
Revathi (Malayalam: രേവതി, Tamil: ரேவதி) (born as Asha Kelunni Kutty on 8 July 1966) is an award-winning Indian actress and film director. She has acted in Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu and Hindi movies, directed several feature-length films, and has acted in and produced multiple television programs, totaling over twenty years of experience in the entertainment industry and over a hundred films to her credit.
Revathi was born as Asha Kelunni Kutty in Kochi to Major Kelunni, a major in the Indian Army,[1] and Lalitha Kelunni. In 1983, while living in and attending school in Chennai, Tamil Nadu she was spotted by noted Tamil director Bharathiraja, who was searching for a new heroine for his next film, and went on to play the heroine of Mann Vasanai which became a Silver Jubilee hit. Since then, she has acted over one hundred films spanning all four major South Indian languages as well as Hindi.
Over the course of her career, she has earned numerous awards on both a regional and national basis, including receiving the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Tamil for three consecutive years (1992–1994) for Thevar Magan, Marupadiyum, and Priyanka respectively, the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Malayalam for Kakkothikkavile Appooppan Thaadikal, the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for Thevar Magan, as well as the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu for Ankuram. Alongside these are many awards from the Film Fans Association, the Tamil Nadu State Government, Cinema Express, and other organizations.
Mitr, My Friend (2002) was her first full-length directorial venture. A rare Indian English film at the time, Mitr garnered an award for Best Director (English Film) in the National Awards. Her next film as a director, Phir Milenge (2004), created waves as one of the first Hindi movies to deal with the sensitive subject of AIDS. She was also a part of Mani Ratnam's stage show, Netru, Indru, Naalai, as well as the Malayalam anthology film Kerala Cafe.
Apart from films, she has been involved in a variety of social organisations, the most notable being the Banyan, the Ability Foundation, the Tanker Foundation, and Vidyasagar, and has also served as a member of several film festivals including the Chennai International Film Festival and the International Film Festival of India.
She is trained in the dance form of Bharatanatyam, having studied since the age of seven and performed her arangetram in Chennai, Tamil Nadu in 1979.[2] Her marriage to cinematographer and director Suresh Menon was announced in 1986; they separated in 2002.
Archana Galrani (born on October 10, 1988), better known professionally as Sanjjanaa, is an Indian model and film actress. Though she appeared in quite a few Kannada films, it was the 2008 Telugu film Bujjigadu that brought her to limelight.[3][4] She was a model before entering into films. She started her acting career with commercials ads.Archana Galrani (born on October 10, 1988), better known professionally as Sanjjanaa, is an Indian model and film actress. Though she appeared in quite a few Kannada films, it was the 2008 Telugu film Bujjigadu that brought her to limelight.[3][4] She was a model before entering into films. She started her acting career with commercials ads.
Sanjjanaa was born and brought up in Bangalore. She is of Sindhi origin.[5] When she was doing her PUC, she received her first modelling offers. She continued her studies, while working as a part-time model.[6] She appeared in over 60 television advertisements,[7] the most notable being a Fasttrack advert with John Abraham.[8] After appearing in a couple of advertisements, she signed her first film Ganda Hendathi in Kannada.[9] Her first release, however, became the low-budget Tamil film, Oru Kadhal Seiveer, which met with negative reviews and poor box office returns. S. R. Ashok Kumar of The Hindu noted that Sanjjanaa, then credited under her birth name, was "beautiful but has to work on her acting".[10] Ganda Hendathi, a remake of the Hindi film Murder (2004), itself an adaptation of the Hollywood film Unfaithful (2002),[11] was also panned by critics.[12][13] Sanjjanaa's performance drew mixed reviews, with a reviewer from Nowrunning.com claiming that she "utterly fails to deliver" in the emotional sequences, while Sify wrote: "Sanjana has made a decent debut and she is extremely daring and does justice to her role".[14] In 2008, she made her Telugu film debut in Puri Jagannadh's Bujjigadu, in which she played a notable role alongside Prabhas and Trisha Krishnan. Although her role was small, the film gained her considerable attention and helped her growing in popularity.[15][16] In 2010, she was first seen in the Telugu film Police Police, which was followed by a cameo role in Huduga Hudugi. Her final release of that year was Mylari that featured her opposite Shivrajkumar. It was the biggest milestone in her Kannada carreer as she was subsequently flooded with offers in Kannada cinema. Regarding her performance in the film, the Times of India wrote that she "shines in her lively and mischievous role".[17]Also her film with the Ramanaidu production titled Mugguru that released last year got Sanjjanaa a lot of attention with Virat in youthful stars in the Telugu industry.
In her jan 13th 2012 released her malayalam debut she played one of the lead female roles in Casanovva, her maiden Malayalam venture. Reportedly the costliest Malayalam production of all time,[18] co-starring Mohanlal and Shriya Saran, the film saw Sanjjana portray a salsa dancer.[19] Director Rosshan Andrrews signed her for the particular role, since she was trained in salsa.[20] Her next release is her second Malayalam film, Shaji Kailas' The King & the Commissioner, co-starring Mammooty and Suresh Gopi. Her upcoming films include Narasimha, Ondu Kshanadalli, Sagar and Rebel, all of which being Kannada projects.
1931 saw the emergence of talking pictures in the regional languages of South India with the release of Tamil film Kalidas. In 1934, the first Kannada talkie, Sati Sulochana,[5] appeared in theatres, followed by Bhakta Dhruva (aka Dhruva Kumar).
Both Sati Sulochana and Bhakta Dhruva were major successes. But prospective filmmakers in Karnataka were handicapped by the lack of studios and technical crews. Sati Sulochana was shot in Kolhapur at the Chatrapathi studio; most filming, sound recording, and post-production was done in Madras (now Chennai). It was difficult, as well, to find financial backing for new film projects in the region; thus, very few movies in Kannada were released during the early years of Indian sound cinema.
[edit]1940s and 1950s
Gubbi Veeranna could be considered the doyen of Kannada cinema during the mid to late forties. He brought his talent as an actor from the theatrical stage to Kannada cinema through his Gubbi Veeranna Theater. From the mid-forties to late fifties, Gubbi Karnataka Productions (of which he was a shareholder) produced movies such as Gunasagari, Hemareddi Mallamma, Adarsha Sati, and Sadarame.
Gubbi Veeranna encouraged and introduced young talent in his movies. One such talent was K. R. Seetharama Sastry, popularly known as Kurasi (also known as Kurasee or Ku Ra Seetharama Sastry). In 1949, Honnappa Bhagavathar who had earlier acted in Gubbi Veeranna's films, produced Bhaktha Kumbara and starred in the lead role along with Pandaribai.
Ku Ra Seetharama Sastry ("Kurasi") was an actor, film director, lyricist, and screen playwright from the mid-forties through the late seventies. Kurasi started as an actor under Gubbi Veeranna's tutelage in movies such as Bhaktha Kumbara, Gunasagari, and Hemareddi Mallamma. He subsequently directed many Rajkumar films, such as Anna Thangi, Rani Honnamma, and Mana Mechida Madadi, among others. He introduced several artists to Kannada film industry, including Shivaram (Beratha Jeeva) and Shakthi Prasad (Karaga Shakti, father of Kannada & Tamil actor/director Arjun). In 1955, Honnappa Bhagavathar again produced a Kannada film Mahakavi Kalidasa in which he introduced B. Saroja Devi. Kurasi directed the movie, while Honnappa Bhagavathar was the music director. Mahakavi Kalidasa won the President's Silver Medal for Best Direction, Lyrics, and Screenplay. Kurasi wrote several Kannada songs that remain popular among Kannadigas. Kurasi was the first Kannada film artist who went abroad to direct two films in the Malayan language in Singapore in the early 1950s; he won an international award for his direction of the film Iman in Malaya (now Malaysia).
[edit]1950s and 1960s
Rajkumar
The 1950s introduced the doyen of Kannada cinema: Rajkumar. Rajkumar, originally known as Mutturaju, was a theater artist who was discovered by HLN Simha. HLN offered him a lead role in the mythological movie Bedara Kannappa. The movie proved to be a blockbuster. It also launched the careers of comedian Narasimharaju and director G. V. Iyer.
Even after the success of Bedara Kannappa, the Kannada film industry remained stagnant. The lack of financiers, technicians and studios proved to be a hindrance to film making. Rajkumar, Narasimharaju and G. V. Iyer decided to form a partnership and produce movies. The partnership lasted for only a couple of movies. Ranadhira Kanteerava was one such successful joint venture. The majority of the films during this decade were either mythological or historical in nature.
The rise of Rajkumar encouraged the Kannada film industry to make more historical movies. Bedara Kannappa was the first Kannada movie which completed 100 days and it received a letter of appreciation from the central government. The golden era in the history of Kannada cinema was here; it gave rise to not only talents of Kannada cinema but even other film industries. Although lacking a local studio (due to which the industry had to rely on erstwhile Madras or Bombay studios), the industry had its own era of theater personalities making the cinema an art. Rajkumar and other artists worked hard to establish a movie studio in Bangalore. Finally, Balakrishna succeeded in opening Abhiman Studio in Bangalore.
Prominent directors of this era included Puttanna Kanagal, Gubbi Veeranna, R. Nagendra Rao (RNR), H.L.N. Simha, Kurasi, B. R. Panthulu, M. R. Vittal, Sampath, Hunsoor Krishnamurthy, Sathyu, Girish Karnad, and U. R. AnanthaMurthy.
Prominent actors included Kalyan Kumar, Udaya Kumar, Rajesh and Gangadhar. Actresses who left their mark included B. Jayamma, B. Saroja Devi, Pandari Bai, Leelavathi, Rajamma, Kalpana, Bharati, Manjula, Aarathi, and Jayanthi.
Narasimharaju, Balakrishna , and Natabhayankara Vajramuni carved their own niches as supporting stars.
[edit]1970s and 1980s
The 1970s and the 1980s are often considered to be the Golden Age of Kannada cinema. It was also the period that witnessed the birth of alternate cinema or parallel cinema. Kannada cinema spearheaded the parallel cinema movement in India along with Hindi Telugu Tamil Bengali and Malayalam cinemas. B. V. Karanth's Chomana Dudi (an evocative film on caste distinctions), Girish Karnad's Kaadu and Girish Kasaravalli's Ghatashraddha spearheaded the Kannada parallel cinema. Vamshavruksha, Prema Karanth's Phaniyamma, Kadu Kudure, Hamsageethe, Accident, Akramana, Mooru Dhaarigalu, Tabarana Kathe and Bannadha Vesha and mainly Puttanna Kanagal's Naagarahavu were some of the important movies of this era.
Aarthi, bharathi, Manjula, and Laxmi were the versatile actress of this period, Ashwath, Dwarakish, lohitashwa, vajramuni, sudheer, sunderkrishna Urs, toogudeepa srinvias, N.S Rao, Umashree, Tara were some of the talented and well known character artists of the period.
Girish Kasaravalli's first film Ghatashraddha (1977) won him the National Award for Best Film. He won the National Award for Best Film four times. His other award-winning films included: Akramana (1979), Mooru Dhaarigalu (1981), Tabarana Kathe (1987), Bannadha Vesha (1989), Mane (1989), Kraurya (1996), Taayi Saaheba (1998) and Dweepa (2002).
Girish Karnad's Kaadu (1973) and Ondanondu Kaladalli (1978), M. S. Sathyu's Kanneshwara Rama (1977) and Chithegu Chinthe (1978), and Pattabhi Rama Reddy's Samskara (1970) were also among the important movies of this era.
The 1970s and 1980s also witnessed the rise of director Puttanna Kanagal. His movies (Belli moda, Gejje Pooje, Sharapanjara, Sakshatkara, Nagara Havu) pioneered a new style of film making which acted as a bridge between commercial and parallel cinema. In the 1980s, in a bid to popularize film making, the Government of Karnataka granted a 50% tax exemption to Kannada films completely made in Karnataka, and it increased the subsidy amount to Kannada films.
Rajkumar, by then was already considered the top actor in the Kannada Film Industry. His historical drama film, Mayura was a tremendous success and his depiction of Raja Mayurasharma in the film is regarded with pride by present-day Kannadigas. But Puttanna Kanagal's Nagara Havu gave the film's lead actor Vishnuvardhan (actor) an iconic status. Thorgh this movie kannada cinema got introduced to the two legends Vishnuvardhan and Ambareesh, Along with the emergence of other top hero's, Ananth nag,Shankar nag, Srinath, kannada cinema witnessed a huge production of commercial films. The emergence of these actors ironically paved the way for hero centric masala movies,
Shankar Nag made his own mark with the internationally acclaimed Ondanondu Kaladalli and Malgudi Days, along with several commercial hits. Anant Nag, Ambareesh, Prabhakar, Lokesh, Ashok, Srinath, M. P. Shankar, and Sunder Krishna Urs were other actors who made their own mark in the industry. Puttana Kanagal paved the way for the abovementioned actors as well as Ramakrishna, Kokila Mohan, and Chandrashekar. Lakshmi, Padma Vaasanthi, Geetha, Madhavi, Saritha, and Jayamala were some of the actresses who made their mark.
[edit]1980s and 1990s
The late 80's saw the emergence of Ravichandran and Shivarajkumar as top hero's, Good number of family oriented films were made during this period. Rajendra singh babu, D.Rajendra babu, V. Somashekhar,SaiPrakash, M.S Rajshekhar, are some of the top most directors of this era, H. R. Bhargava directed numerous popular Kannada movies during the 1980s and 1990s. His movies were family-oriented. Bhagyavantaru, Avala Hejje, Guru Shishyaru, Preeti Vatsalya and Jananayaka were some of his hit movies. Sandesh Nagaraj was known for his offbeat films, Sunil Kumar Desai for his versatility, Dinesh Babu for the depth of his stories, T. S. Nagabharana for his involvement in Jaanapada and historical melodramas, Kodlu Ramakrishna for his subjects based on common man and narrative stories, and Phani Ramachandra for his comic flicks. This was a time when actors who had started out specializing in villain roles tried other roles. Ravichandran and Hamsalekha successfully created a blend exclusively for youth. Ravichandran brought in actresses from other industries. Ravichandran, Devaraj, Jaggesh, Maanu, Suresh Heblikar, Lokanath, Lohithaswa, Sudheer were some of veterans who made their mark in the industry. Shivrajkumar also started his career in this time as Bhavya, Mahalaxmi, Sudha Rani, Tara, Anjali, Vanitha Vasu, Anjana, and Shruthi came to the limelight.
At the late 1990s approached, there was a need for fresh talent. As time progressed, the south Indian film industry became segregated and Kannada and Malayalam were subdued under the huge business-oriented industries of Telugu and Tamil cinema, which faced a surge of fresh talent from younger generations.
New and fresh talents of Sunil, Shashikumar, Ramesh Aravind, Ramkumar, along with Malashri did a commercial survival not maintain the same order. But still this era found a little respite with movies like Nammoora Mandara Hoove, Amruthavarshini, America America and Upendra's Om and A. The decade had some story-based films like Mannina Doni. Ravichandran suffered a failure with Shanthi Kranthi. This decade also witnessed the special movie Beladingala Baale.
The deaths of Shankar Nag and Sunil were unexpected.
[edit]2000s
The Kannada film industry managed to generate several blockbusters in the first decade of the new millennium. It suffered heavy losses with the demise of superstars and demi gods of Karnataka Rajkumar and Vishnuvardhan (actor) and other actors such as K. S. Ashwath and Vajramuni.
But this decade also saw the emergence of talented artists like Puneet Rajkumar (Rajkumar's third son), Darshan Tugudeep (son of actor Toogudeepa Sreenivas), Sudeep, Ganesh, Diganth and Vijay. Director Upendra turned into an actor and acted in several hit films. Young actresses like Ramya, Rakshita, Pooja Gandhi, Aindrita Ray, Priyamani, Rekha Vedavyas, Sharmila Mandre, Meera Jasmine, Jennifer Kotwal, Radhika Pandit, Shuba Poonja, Nikita Thukral and Sanjana established themselves in this decade. Matured actresses like Tara, Prema and Bhavana (who gave a dynamic and offbeat performance in the single-actor movie Shanti) led the female brigade for off-beat films. Girish Kasaravalli made huge waves with his subjects in art-based films. Nagathihalli Chandrashekhar, T. S. Nagabharana and Girish Karnad were instrumental throughout in bringing masterpieces.
Yajamana by Vishnuvardhan (actor) broke all previous box office records, running to packed houses in many theaters across the country for more than a year.
The year 2005 witnessed good collections at the box office for the Kannada film industry. Starting with Shivrajkumar-starrer jogi, which grossed 14 crore in just 2 weeks and ran for 100 days in a record number of theaters in Karnataka, films like Anna Tangi, Gowramma, Amruthadhare, Deadly Soma and Nenapirali performed well at the box office. An estimated four of every five films released succeeded at the box office. Profits soared and there was a happy mood in the industry. In the last quarter of 2006, the huge blockbuster movie Mungaru Male shattered records and was even released in other countries (USA, UK, Australia). Mungaru Male completed one whole year at PVR Cinemas Bangalore, and completed 45 weeks in main theater, while running for more than 100 days in many theaters across the state and it also became the first movie in the world to complete a one-year run at any multiplex, where films keep changing every week with at least 5 films releasing freshly. Mungaru Male even released in Chennai, Hyderabad and even abroad. Comedy Time Ganesh, a small-time TV anchor, became the Golden Star Ganesh of Kannada Cinema; Duniya became another huge hit and gave life to its hero, Vijay.
Puneet Rajkumar became the top most actor in the Kannada film Industry and one of the busiest and highest paid actors of the Kannada Film Industry. His film Appu in 2002 completed 175 days in theaters across Karnataka and the world and was also remade in various languages such as Telugu (Idiot). His film, Abhi in 2003 became a box office hit completing 100 days at the theatres. 2007's biggest hit movie Milana ran for 450 days in many centers across the country and bettered the record of Mungaru Male at PVR Cinemas, Bengaluru. His 2010 releases were Prithvi and Jackie. Both were screened for more than 100 days and Jackie remains one among the highest grossing films in the industry. 2011's films Hudugaru, Paramathma also fared well.
In 2008, the Kannada film industry saw many firsts. More and more films started to release outside the state and outside India. Gaja,Buddhivantha and Navagraha became hits.[6] The budget for Kannada films was now between 5-10 crores, as opposed to just 1-2 crore three years previously. Mukhaputa (The Cover Page) won an award at the Ireland Film Festival. In 2009, Raaj the Showman, Manasaare, and Josh ran for 100 days. Kannada actress Umashree won a Best Actress National Award for the movie Gulabi Talkies in 2009; the film also screened at Osian's Cinefan Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema, and won three awards: Best Film in Indian Competition, Best Actress in Indian Competition (Umashree), and Best Actor in Indian Competition (Vinay BM).
Kannada cinema celebrated its 75-year anniversary in 2009. A function was held on the palace grounds in Bangalore on 1 March 2009 under the direction of V. Ravichandran, featuring a set resembling an open-winged bird. It was attended by many stars from Kannada cinema and from other film industries who had a stint in Kannada films.
In 2010, Vishnuvardhan's final film, Aptharakshaka, created new box office records. Puneeth Rajkumar's film with director Soori, Jackie, broke previous records by collecting 25 crores in two weeks. Upendra's 2010 film titled Super is the most expensive Kannada film to date and has become the highest grosser in the history of Kannada cinema and has also completed a successful 100 days.
Kannada blockbusters in the 21st century have included: Yajamana, Aptamitra, Jogi, Mungaru Male, Duniya, Milana, Galipata, Cheluvina Chittara, Buddivanta, Super, Kutumba, Rakta Kanneeru, Gokarna, Gowramma, Aptharakshaka, Krishnan Love Story, Jackie, Mylari, Appu, Akash, Arasu,Malla, Huchaa, Kariya,Kalasipalya, My Autograph, Veera Madakari, Munsaje Maathu, Jothe hotheyalli, Nenapiralli,Gaja,Excuse Me,,Hudugru,Kanasugara, Cynide, Aa Dinagalu, Kempegowda.
Movies which have run for over a year include: Bangarada Manushya (Rajkumar),"Prema loka"(V.Ravichandran) Anuraga Aralithu (Rajkumar), "Suprabhatha" (Vishnuvardhan), "Ranadheera"(V.Ravichandran), Jeevana Chaitra (Rajkumar), "Nee Bareda Kadambari" (Vishnuvardhan), Nanjundi Kalyana (Raghavendra Rajkumar), Janumada Jodi (Shivrajkumar)," Putnanja"(V.Ravichandran), Om (Shivrajkumar), Yajamana (Vishnuvardhana), Aaptamitra (Vishnuvardhana), Mungaru Male (Ganesh), 'Milana (Puneeth Rajkumar), Naagarahaavu(Vishnuvardhana), Bandhana(Vishnuvardhana). Most of Vishnuvardhan's films have had a one whole year run at the theaters that shows the huge fan following and the popularity for the actor in Karnataka.
source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinema_of_Karnataka
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Kavitha Ranjini, better known by her stage name Urvashi (Malayalam: ഉർവശി), is an Indian film actress and producer. She was a prominent lead actress during the 1980s and 1990s in Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, and Telugu films. She has dubbed in her own voice in all these languages. And she produced the film Pidakkozhi Koovunna Noottandu (1994). She won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Achuvinte Amma (2005).
Urvashi was born in Trivandrum, Kerala to actor Chavara V. P. Nair and Vijayalakshmi. Her sisters, Kalaranjini and Kalpana, are also acclaimed actresses.[1]
She fell in love with Manoj K. Jayan and married him in 2000. On 11 October 2008 it was reported that Urvashi had obtained mutual separation from her husband. The couple developed difference of opinion and filed for divorce at a court in Chennai. Later, they were separated by a court order. Their only daughter Kunjatta is now living with Manoj K. Jayan.
[edit]Acting career
She started acting films during the 1980s. Munthanai Mudichchu (Tamil, 1984), directed by K. Bhagyaraj, was her first film. Ethirppukal (Malayalam, 1985) was one of her earlier films in Malayalam. During the peak of her career, she starred in M. P. Sukumaran Nair's award-winning film Kazhakam in 1995, without taking a single penny as remuneration. She was awarded Best Actress for this role.
She was a leading Malayalam actress in the late 80s, giving performances in movies like Thalayanamanthram, Mazhavilkavadi, to name a few.
She made her debut in Tamil films with Mundhanai Mudichu (1983) with Bhagyaraj. The movie was a big hit and made Urvashi a sought-after actress in all the South Indian languages. Urvashi has also acted in many Kannada movies with top heroes like Rajkumar, Vishnuvardhan, Ravichandran and Ramesh Aravind. Her latest Kannada movie, Rama Shama Bhama (2005) with Ramesh Arvind and Kamal Haasan, was a crowd-puller and her performance was well appreciated by critics and audience.
Urvashi was also seen as the host of the game show Thanga Vettai, aired on Sun TV. She served as the host for the show for a very short time, preceded by Ramya Krishnan and succeeded by Kanika Subramaniam.
Urvashi is currently the host of a successful "Ladies Show" on Surya TV Channel known as Rani Maharani.
Revathi (Malayalam: രേവതി, Tamil: ரேவதி) (born as Asha Kelunni Kutty on 8 July 1966) is an award-winning Indian actress and film director. She has acted in Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu and Hindi movies, directed several feature-length films, and has acted in and produced multiple television programs, totaling over twenty years of experience in the entertainment industry and over a hundred films to her credit.
Revathi was born as Asha Kelunni Kutty in Kochi to Major Kelunni, a major in the Indian Army,[1] and Lalitha Kelunni. In 1983, while living in and attending school in Chennai, Tamil Nadu she was spotted by noted Tamil director Bharathiraja, who was searching for a new heroine for his next film, and went on to play the heroine of Mann Vasanai which became a Silver Jubilee hit. Since then, she has acted over one hundred films spanning all four major South Indian languages as well as Hindi.
Over the course of her career, she has earned numerous awards on both a regional and national basis, including receiving the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Tamil for three consecutive years (1992–1994) for Thevar Magan, Marupadiyum, and Priyanka respectively, the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Malayalam for Kakkothikkavile Appooppan Thaadikal, the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for Thevar Magan, as well as the Filmfare Award for Best Actress – Telugu for Ankuram. Alongside these are many awards from the Film Fans Association, the Tamil Nadu State Government, Cinema Express, and other organizations.
Mitr, My Friend (2002) was her first full-length directorial venture. A rare Indian English film at the time, Mitr garnered an award for Best Director (English Film) in the National Awards. Her next film as a director, Phir Milenge (2004), created waves as one of the first Hindi movies to deal with the sensitive subject of AIDS. She was also a part of Mani Ratnam's stage show, Netru, Indru, Naalai, as well as the Malayalam anthology film Kerala Cafe.
Apart from films, she has been involved in a variety of social organisations, the most notable being the Banyan, the Ability Foundation, the Tanker Foundation, and Vidyasagar, and has also served as a member of several film festivals including the Chennai International Film Festival and the International Film Festival of India.
She is trained in the dance form of Bharatanatyam, having studied since the age of seven and performed her arangetram in Chennai, Tamil Nadu in 1979.[2] Her marriage to cinematographer and director Suresh Menon was announced in 1986; they separated in 2002.
Archana Galrani (born on October 10, 1988), better known professionally as Sanjjanaa, is an Indian model and film actress. Though she appeared in quite a few Kannada films, it was the 2008 Telugu film Bujjigadu that brought her to limelight.[3][4] She was a model before entering into films. She started her acting career with commercials ads.Archana Galrani (born on October 10, 1988), better known professionally as Sanjjanaa, is an Indian model and film actress. Though she appeared in quite a few Kannada films, it was the 2008 Telugu film Bujjigadu that brought her to limelight.[3][4] She was a model before entering into films. She started her acting career with commercials ads.
Sanjjanaa was born and brought up in Bangalore. She is of Sindhi origin.[5] When she was doing her PUC, she received her first modelling offers. She continued her studies, while working as a part-time model.[6] She appeared in over 60 television advertisements,[7] the most notable being a Fasttrack advert with John Abraham.[8] After appearing in a couple of advertisements, she signed her first film Ganda Hendathi in Kannada.[9] Her first release, however, became the low-budget Tamil film, Oru Kadhal Seiveer, which met with negative reviews and poor box office returns. S. R. Ashok Kumar of The Hindu noted that Sanjjanaa, then credited under her birth name, was "beautiful but has to work on her acting".[10] Ganda Hendathi, a remake of the Hindi film Murder (2004), itself an adaptation of the Hollywood film Unfaithful (2002),[11] was also panned by critics.[12][13] Sanjjanaa's performance drew mixed reviews, with a reviewer from Nowrunning.com claiming that she "utterly fails to deliver" in the emotional sequences, while Sify wrote: "Sanjana has made a decent debut and she is extremely daring and does justice to her role".[14] In 2008, she made her Telugu film debut in Puri Jagannadh's Bujjigadu, in which she played a notable role alongside Prabhas and Trisha Krishnan. Although her role was small, the film gained her considerable attention and helped her growing in popularity.[15][16] In 2010, she was first seen in the Telugu film Police Police, which was followed by a cameo role in Huduga Hudugi. Her final release of that year was Mylari that featured her opposite Shivrajkumar. It was the biggest milestone in her Kannada carreer as she was subsequently flooded with offers in Kannada cinema. Regarding her performance in the film, the Times of India wrote that she "shines in her lively and mischievous role".[17]Also her film with the Ramanaidu production titled Mugguru that released last year got Sanjjanaa a lot of attention with Virat in youthful stars in the Telugu industry.
In her jan 13th 2012 released her malayalam debut she played one of the lead female roles in Casanovva, her maiden Malayalam venture. Reportedly the costliest Malayalam production of all time,[18] co-starring Mohanlal and Shriya Saran, the film saw Sanjjana portray a salsa dancer.[19] Director Rosshan Andrrews signed her for the particular role, since she was trained in salsa.[20] Her next release is her second Malayalam film, Shaji Kailas' The King & the Commissioner, co-starring Mammooty and Suresh Gopi. Her upcoming films include Narasimha, Ondu Kshanadalli, Sagar and Rebel, all of which being Kannada projects.
1931 saw the emergence of talking pictures in the regional languages of South India with the release of Tamil film Kalidas. In 1934, the first Kannada talkie, Sati Sulochana,[5] appeared in theatres, followed by Bhakta Dhruva (aka Dhruva Kumar).
Both Sati Sulochana and Bhakta Dhruva were major successes. But prospective filmmakers in Karnataka were handicapped by the lack of studios and technical crews. Sati Sulochana was shot in Kolhapur at the Chatrapathi studio; most filming, sound recording, and post-production was done in Madras (now Chennai). It was difficult, as well, to find financial backing for new film projects in the region; thus, very few movies in Kannada were released during the early years of Indian sound cinema.
[edit]1940s and 1950s
Gubbi Veeranna could be considered the doyen of Kannada cinema during the mid to late forties. He brought his talent as an actor from the theatrical stage to Kannada cinema through his Gubbi Veeranna Theater. From the mid-forties to late fifties, Gubbi Karnataka Productions (of which he was a shareholder) produced movies such as Gunasagari, Hemareddi Mallamma, Adarsha Sati, and Sadarame.
Gubbi Veeranna encouraged and introduced young talent in his movies. One such talent was K. R. Seetharama Sastry, popularly known as Kurasi (also known as Kurasee or Ku Ra Seetharama Sastry). In 1949, Honnappa Bhagavathar who had earlier acted in Gubbi Veeranna's films, produced Bhaktha Kumbara and starred in the lead role along with Pandaribai.
Ku Ra Seetharama Sastry ("Kurasi") was an actor, film director, lyricist, and screen playwright from the mid-forties through the late seventies. Kurasi started as an actor under Gubbi Veeranna's tutelage in movies such as Bhaktha Kumbara, Gunasagari, and Hemareddi Mallamma. He subsequently directed many Rajkumar films, such as Anna Thangi, Rani Honnamma, and Mana Mechida Madadi, among others. He introduced several artists to Kannada film industry, including Shivaram (Beratha Jeeva) and Shakthi Prasad (Karaga Shakti, father of Kannada & Tamil actor/director Arjun). In 1955, Honnappa Bhagavathar again produced a Kannada film Mahakavi Kalidasa in which he introduced B. Saroja Devi. Kurasi directed the movie, while Honnappa Bhagavathar was the music director. Mahakavi Kalidasa won the President's Silver Medal for Best Direction, Lyrics, and Screenplay. Kurasi wrote several Kannada songs that remain popular among Kannadigas. Kurasi was the first Kannada film artist who went abroad to direct two films in the Malayan language in Singapore in the early 1950s; he won an international award for his direction of the film Iman in Malaya (now Malaysia).
[edit]1950s and 1960s
Rajkumar
The 1950s introduced the doyen of Kannada cinema: Rajkumar. Rajkumar, originally known as Mutturaju, was a theater artist who was discovered by HLN Simha. HLN offered him a lead role in the mythological movie Bedara Kannappa. The movie proved to be a blockbuster. It also launched the careers of comedian Narasimharaju and director G. V. Iyer.
Even after the success of Bedara Kannappa, the Kannada film industry remained stagnant. The lack of financiers, technicians and studios proved to be a hindrance to film making. Rajkumar, Narasimharaju and G. V. Iyer decided to form a partnership and produce movies. The partnership lasted for only a couple of movies. Ranadhira Kanteerava was one such successful joint venture. The majority of the films during this decade were either mythological or historical in nature.
The rise of Rajkumar encouraged the Kannada film industry to make more historical movies. Bedara Kannappa was the first Kannada movie which completed 100 days and it received a letter of appreciation from the central government. The golden era in the history of Kannada cinema was here; it gave rise to not only talents of Kannada cinema but even other film industries. Although lacking a local studio (due to which the industry had to rely on erstwhile Madras or Bombay studios), the industry had its own era of theater personalities making the cinema an art. Rajkumar and other artists worked hard to establish a movie studio in Bangalore. Finally, Balakrishna succeeded in opening Abhiman Studio in Bangalore.
Prominent directors of this era included Puttanna Kanagal, Gubbi Veeranna, R. Nagendra Rao (RNR), H.L.N. Simha, Kurasi, B. R. Panthulu, M. R. Vittal, Sampath, Hunsoor Krishnamurthy, Sathyu, Girish Karnad, and U. R. AnanthaMurthy.
Prominent actors included Kalyan Kumar, Udaya Kumar, Rajesh and Gangadhar. Actresses who left their mark included B. Jayamma, B. Saroja Devi, Pandari Bai, Leelavathi, Rajamma, Kalpana, Bharati, Manjula, Aarathi, and Jayanthi.
Narasimharaju, Balakrishna , and Natabhayankara Vajramuni carved their own niches as supporting stars.
[edit]1970s and 1980s
The 1970s and the 1980s are often considered to be the Golden Age of Kannada cinema. It was also the period that witnessed the birth of alternate cinema or parallel cinema. Kannada cinema spearheaded the parallel cinema movement in India along with Hindi Telugu Tamil Bengali and Malayalam cinemas. B. V. Karanth's Chomana Dudi (an evocative film on caste distinctions), Girish Karnad's Kaadu and Girish Kasaravalli's Ghatashraddha spearheaded the Kannada parallel cinema. Vamshavruksha, Prema Karanth's Phaniyamma, Kadu Kudure, Hamsageethe, Accident, Akramana, Mooru Dhaarigalu, Tabarana Kathe and Bannadha Vesha and mainly Puttanna Kanagal's Naagarahavu were some of the important movies of this era.
Aarthi, bharathi, Manjula, and Laxmi were the versatile actress of this period, Ashwath, Dwarakish, lohitashwa, vajramuni, sudheer, sunderkrishna Urs, toogudeepa srinvias, N.S Rao, Umashree, Tara were some of the talented and well known character artists of the period.
Girish Kasaravalli's first film Ghatashraddha (1977) won him the National Award for Best Film. He won the National Award for Best Film four times. His other award-winning films included: Akramana (1979), Mooru Dhaarigalu (1981), Tabarana Kathe (1987), Bannadha Vesha (1989), Mane (1989), Kraurya (1996), Taayi Saaheba (1998) and Dweepa (2002).
Girish Karnad's Kaadu (1973) and Ondanondu Kaladalli (1978), M. S. Sathyu's Kanneshwara Rama (1977) and Chithegu Chinthe (1978), and Pattabhi Rama Reddy's Samskara (1970) were also among the important movies of this era.
The 1970s and 1980s also witnessed the rise of director Puttanna Kanagal. His movies (Belli moda, Gejje Pooje, Sharapanjara, Sakshatkara, Nagara Havu) pioneered a new style of film making which acted as a bridge between commercial and parallel cinema. In the 1980s, in a bid to popularize film making, the Government of Karnataka granted a 50% tax exemption to Kannada films completely made in Karnataka, and it increased the subsidy amount to Kannada films.
Rajkumar, by then was already considered the top actor in the Kannada Film Industry. His historical drama film, Mayura was a tremendous success and his depiction of Raja Mayurasharma in the film is regarded with pride by present-day Kannadigas. But Puttanna Kanagal's Nagara Havu gave the film's lead actor Vishnuvardhan (actor) an iconic status. Thorgh this movie kannada cinema got introduced to the two legends Vishnuvardhan and Ambareesh, Along with the emergence of other top hero's, Ananth nag,Shankar nag, Srinath, kannada cinema witnessed a huge production of commercial films. The emergence of these actors ironically paved the way for hero centric masala movies,
Shankar Nag made his own mark with the internationally acclaimed Ondanondu Kaladalli and Malgudi Days, along with several commercial hits. Anant Nag, Ambareesh, Prabhakar, Lokesh, Ashok, Srinath, M. P. Shankar, and Sunder Krishna Urs were other actors who made their own mark in the industry. Puttana Kanagal paved the way for the abovementioned actors as well as Ramakrishna, Kokila Mohan, and Chandrashekar. Lakshmi, Padma Vaasanthi, Geetha, Madhavi, Saritha, and Jayamala were some of the actresses who made their mark.
[edit]1980s and 1990s
The late 80's saw the emergence of Ravichandran and Shivarajkumar as top hero's, Good number of family oriented films were made during this period. Rajendra singh babu, D.Rajendra babu, V. Somashekhar,SaiPrakash, M.S Rajshekhar, are some of the top most directors of this era, H. R. Bhargava directed numerous popular Kannada movies during the 1980s and 1990s. His movies were family-oriented. Bhagyavantaru, Avala Hejje, Guru Shishyaru, Preeti Vatsalya and Jananayaka were some of his hit movies. Sandesh Nagaraj was known for his offbeat films, Sunil Kumar Desai for his versatility, Dinesh Babu for the depth of his stories, T. S. Nagabharana for his involvement in Jaanapada and historical melodramas, Kodlu Ramakrishna for his subjects based on common man and narrative stories, and Phani Ramachandra for his comic flicks. This was a time when actors who had started out specializing in villain roles tried other roles. Ravichandran and Hamsalekha successfully created a blend exclusively for youth. Ravichandran brought in actresses from other industries. Ravichandran, Devaraj, Jaggesh, Maanu, Suresh Heblikar, Lokanath, Lohithaswa, Sudheer were some of veterans who made their mark in the industry. Shivrajkumar also started his career in this time as Bhavya, Mahalaxmi, Sudha Rani, Tara, Anjali, Vanitha Vasu, Anjana, and Shruthi came to the limelight.
At the late 1990s approached, there was a need for fresh talent. As time progressed, the south Indian film industry became segregated and Kannada and Malayalam were subdued under the huge business-oriented industries of Telugu and Tamil cinema, which faced a surge of fresh talent from younger generations.
New and fresh talents of Sunil, Shashikumar, Ramesh Aravind, Ramkumar, along with Malashri did a commercial survival not maintain the same order. But still this era found a little respite with movies like Nammoora Mandara Hoove, Amruthavarshini, America America and Upendra's Om and A. The decade had some story-based films like Mannina Doni. Ravichandran suffered a failure with Shanthi Kranthi. This decade also witnessed the special movie Beladingala Baale.
The deaths of Shankar Nag and Sunil were unexpected.
[edit]2000s
The Kannada film industry managed to generate several blockbusters in the first decade of the new millennium. It suffered heavy losses with the demise of superstars and demi gods of Karnataka Rajkumar and Vishnuvardhan (actor) and other actors such as K. S. Ashwath and Vajramuni.
But this decade also saw the emergence of talented artists like Puneet Rajkumar (Rajkumar's third son), Darshan Tugudeep (son of actor Toogudeepa Sreenivas), Sudeep, Ganesh, Diganth and Vijay. Director Upendra turned into an actor and acted in several hit films. Young actresses like Ramya, Rakshita, Pooja Gandhi, Aindrita Ray, Priyamani, Rekha Vedavyas, Sharmila Mandre, Meera Jasmine, Jennifer Kotwal, Radhika Pandit, Shuba Poonja, Nikita Thukral and Sanjana established themselves in this decade. Matured actresses like Tara, Prema and Bhavana (who gave a dynamic and offbeat performance in the single-actor movie Shanti) led the female brigade for off-beat films. Girish Kasaravalli made huge waves with his subjects in art-based films. Nagathihalli Chandrashekhar, T. S. Nagabharana and Girish Karnad were instrumental throughout in bringing masterpieces.
Yajamana by Vishnuvardhan (actor) broke all previous box office records, running to packed houses in many theaters across the country for more than a year.
The year 2005 witnessed good collections at the box office for the Kannada film industry. Starting with Shivrajkumar-starrer jogi, which grossed 14 crore in just 2 weeks and ran for 100 days in a record number of theaters in Karnataka, films like Anna Tangi, Gowramma, Amruthadhare, Deadly Soma and Nenapirali performed well at the box office. An estimated four of every five films released succeeded at the box office. Profits soared and there was a happy mood in the industry. In the last quarter of 2006, the huge blockbuster movie Mungaru Male shattered records and was even released in other countries (USA, UK, Australia). Mungaru Male completed one whole year at PVR Cinemas Bangalore, and completed 45 weeks in main theater, while running for more than 100 days in many theaters across the state and it also became the first movie in the world to complete a one-year run at any multiplex, where films keep changing every week with at least 5 films releasing freshly. Mungaru Male even released in Chennai, Hyderabad and even abroad. Comedy Time Ganesh, a small-time TV anchor, became the Golden Star Ganesh of Kannada Cinema; Duniya became another huge hit and gave life to its hero, Vijay.
Puneet Rajkumar became the top most actor in the Kannada film Industry and one of the busiest and highest paid actors of the Kannada Film Industry. His film Appu in 2002 completed 175 days in theaters across Karnataka and the world and was also remade in various languages such as Telugu (Idiot). His film, Abhi in 2003 became a box office hit completing 100 days at the theatres. 2007's biggest hit movie Milana ran for 450 days in many centers across the country and bettered the record of Mungaru Male at PVR Cinemas, Bengaluru. His 2010 releases were Prithvi and Jackie. Both were screened for more than 100 days and Jackie remains one among the highest grossing films in the industry. 2011's films Hudugaru, Paramathma also fared well.
In 2008, the Kannada film industry saw many firsts. More and more films started to release outside the state and outside India. Gaja,Buddhivantha and Navagraha became hits.[6] The budget for Kannada films was now between 5-10 crores, as opposed to just 1-2 crore three years previously. Mukhaputa (The Cover Page) won an award at the Ireland Film Festival. In 2009, Raaj the Showman, Manasaare, and Josh ran for 100 days. Kannada actress Umashree won a Best Actress National Award for the movie Gulabi Talkies in 2009; the film also screened at Osian's Cinefan Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema, and won three awards: Best Film in Indian Competition, Best Actress in Indian Competition (Umashree), and Best Actor in Indian Competition (Vinay BM).
Kannada cinema celebrated its 75-year anniversary in 2009. A function was held on the palace grounds in Bangalore on 1 March 2009 under the direction of V. Ravichandran, featuring a set resembling an open-winged bird. It was attended by many stars from Kannada cinema and from other film industries who had a stint in Kannada films.
In 2010, Vishnuvardhan's final film, Aptharakshaka, created new box office records. Puneeth Rajkumar's film with director Soori, Jackie, broke previous records by collecting 25 crores in two weeks. Upendra's 2010 film titled Super is the most expensive Kannada film to date and has become the highest grosser in the history of Kannada cinema and has also completed a successful 100 days.
Kannada blockbusters in the 21st century have included: Yajamana, Aptamitra, Jogi, Mungaru Male, Duniya, Milana, Galipata, Cheluvina Chittara, Buddivanta, Super, Kutumba, Rakta Kanneeru, Gokarna, Gowramma, Aptharakshaka, Krishnan Love Story, Jackie, Mylari, Appu, Akash, Arasu,Malla, Huchaa, Kariya,Kalasipalya, My Autograph, Veera Madakari, Munsaje Maathu, Jothe hotheyalli, Nenapiralli,Gaja,Excuse Me,,Hudugru,Kanasugara, Cynide, Aa Dinagalu, Kempegowda.
Movies which have run for over a year include: Bangarada Manushya (Rajkumar),"Prema loka"(V.Ravichandran) Anuraga Aralithu (Rajkumar), "Suprabhatha" (Vishnuvardhan), "Ranadheera"(V.Ravichandran), Jeevana Chaitra (Rajkumar), "Nee Bareda Kadambari" (Vishnuvardhan), Nanjundi Kalyana (Raghavendra Rajkumar), Janumada Jodi (Shivrajkumar)," Putnanja"(V.Ravichandran), Om (Shivrajkumar), Yajamana (Vishnuvardhana), Aaptamitra (Vishnuvardhana), Mungaru Male (Ganesh), 'Milana (Puneeth Rajkumar), Naagarahaavu(Vishnuvardhana), Bandhana(Vishnuvardhana). Most of Vishnuvardhan's films have had a one whole year run at the theaters that shows the huge fan following and the popularity for the actor in Karnataka.
source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinema_of_Karnataka
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Kannada actress accuses film director of slapping her
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