Kannada cinema, also known as Sandalwood, or Chandanavana, is the segment of

Indian cinema The Cinema of India consists of motion pictures produced in India, which had a large effect on world cinema since the late 20th century. Major centers of film production across the country include Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, ...

dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the

Kannada language Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native ...

widely spoken in the state of

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

. 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 Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...

. Major literary works have been adapted to the Kannada screen such as B. V. Karanth's '' Chomana Dudi'' (1975), (based on ''Chomana Dudi'' by

Shivaram Karanth Kota Shivaram Karanth (10 October 1902 – 9 December 1997), also abbreviated as K. Shivaram Karanth, was an Indian polymath, who was a novelist in Kannada language, playwright and an ecological conservationist. Ramachandra Guha called him th ...

Girish Karnad Girish Karnad (19 May 1938 – 10 June 2019) was an Indian actor, film director, Kannada writer, playwright and a Jnanpith awardee, who predominantly worked in South Indian cinema and Bollywood. His rise as a playwright in the 1960s marked the ...

's '' Kaadu'' (1973), (based on ''Kaadu'' by Srikrishna Alanahalli), Pattabhirama Reddy's '' Samskara'' (1970) (based on ''Samskara'' by

U. R. Ananthamurthy Udupi Rajagopalacharya Ananthamurthy (21 December 1932 – 22 August 2014) was an Indian contemporary writer and critic in the Kannada language. He was born in Thirtahalli Taluk and is considered one of the pioneers of the Navya movement. In 199 ...

), which won the Bronze Leopard at Locarno International Film Festival, and T. S. Nagabharana's Mysuru Mallige (based on the works of poet K. S. Narasimhaswamy). Kannada cinema is known for producing experimental works such as

Girish Kasaravalli Girish Kasaravalli (born 3 December 1950) is an Indian film director, in the Kannada cinema, and one of the pioneers of the Parallel Cinema. Known internationally for his works, Kasaravalli has garnered fourteen National Film Awards, including f ...

's '' Ghatashraddha'' (1977), which won the Ducats Award at the Manneham Film Festival Germany, '' Dweepa'' (2002), which won Best Film at Moscow International Film Festival, Singeetam Srinivasa Rao's silent film '' Pushpaka Vimana'' (1987), Ram Gopal Varma's docudrama '' Killing Veerappan'' (2016), and

Prashanth Neel Prashanth Neelakantapuram (born 4 June 1980) is an Indian film director and screenwriter who primarily works in the Kannada film industry. He made his debut with the 2014 Kannada film, '' Ugramm'' and later directed the two-part film series: ' ...

's action franchise '' K. G. F. series'' being the highest-grossing Kannada film. Kannada cinema is reported to have 8% market share in the gross domestic box office collections for the period January to August 2022 making it the fourth biggest Indian film industry. The share rose to 9% by October 2022. The total gross collections of the top five Kannada movies of 2022 in first ten months was reported to be ₹1800 crores. The year 2022 witnessed the beginning of new era for the industry in terms of exposure to worldwide attention, box office collection and delivering quality content.

History

Early history

In 1934, the first Kannada

talkie A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed before ...

, '' Sati Sulochana'', appeared in theatres, followed by '' Bhakta Dhruva'' (aka ''Dhruva Kumar''). ''Sati Sulochana'', starring Subbaiah Naidu and Tripuramba, was shot in

Kolhapur Kolhapur () is a city on the banks of the Panchganga River in the southern part of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarter of the Kolhapur district. In, around 2 C.E. Kolapur's name was 'Kuntal'. Kolhapur is ...

at the Chatrapathi studio; most filming, sound recording, and post-production was done in

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

. In 1949, Honnappa Bhagavathar, who had earlier acted in Gubbi Veeranna's films, produced '' Bhakta Kumbara'' and starred in the lead role along with Pandaribai. In 1955, Bhagavathar again produced a Kannada film, '' Mahakavi Kalidasa'', in which he introduced actress B. Saroja Devi. B. S. Ranga was an Indian photographer, actor, writer, producer and director made many landmark movies in

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

, under Vikram Studios.

Mainstream

Matinee idol, Rajkumar entered Kannada cinema after his long stint as a dramatist with

Gubbi Veeranna Gubbi Hampanna Veeranna (1891 – 1972) was an Indian theatre director. He was one of the pioneers and most prolific contributors to Kannada theatre. He established the drama company, ''Gubbi Sree Channabasaveshwara Nataka Company'', which play ...

's ''Gubbi Drama Company'', which he joined at the age of eight, before he got his first break as a lead in the 1954 film '' Bedara Kannappa''. He went on to essay a variety of roles and excelling in portraying mythological and historical characters in films such as ''

Bhakta Kanakadasa ''Bhakta Kanakadasa'' ( kn, ಭಕ್ತ ಕನಕದಾಸ) is a 1960 Indian Kannada language film, directed by Y. R. Swamy. It depicts the spiritual journey of Kanakadasa, who was a devotee of the Hindu deity Krishna, and a poet belonging to ...

'' (1960), '' Ranadheera Kanteerava'' (1960), '' Satya Harishchandra'' (1965), '' Immadi Pulikeshi'' (1967), '' Sri Krishnadevaraya'' (1970), '' Bhakta Kumbara'' (1974), '' Mayura'' (1975), '' Babruvahana'' (1977) and '' Bhakta Prahlada'' (1983). His wife Parvathamma Rajkumar founded Film production and distribution company, Vajreshwari Combines. Vishnuvardhan entered Kannada cinema with the National Award-winning movie '' Vamsha Vriksha'' (1972) directed by

based on the novel written by S. L. Bhyrappa. His first lead role was in '' Naagarahaavu'', directed by Puttanna Kanagal and based on a novel by T. R. Subba Rao. It was the first in Kannada film history to complete 100 days in three main theatres of Bangalore. In his 37-year career, he has played a variety of roles in more than 200 films. Vishnuvardhan 2013 stamp of India

With his debut in Puttanna Kanagal's National Award-winning Kannada film '' Naagarahaavu'' (1972), Ambareesh's acting career commenced with a brief phase of portraying antagonistic and supporting characters. After establishing himself as a lead actor portraying rebellious characters on screen in a number of commercially successful films, he earned the moniker "rebel star". He also earned the nickname ''Mandyada Gandu'' ( Man of Mandya) Rajkumar, Vishnuvardhan and Ambareesh are collectively known as Kannada cinema's triumvirate. Method actor

Shankar Nag Shankar Nagarakatte (9 November 1954 – 30 September 1990) 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 ...

received the inaugural IFFI Best Actor Award (Male): Silver Peacock Award" at the 7th International Film Festival of India for his work in the film '' Ondanondu Kaladalli''. He is the younger brother of actor

Anant Nag Dr Anant Nagarkatte (born 4 September 1948) 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 En ...

. M. V. Vasudeva Rao, the first Kannada actor to win

National Film Award for Best Actor The National Film Award for Best Actor, officially known as the Rajat Kamal Award for the Best Actor (), is an honour presented annually at the National Film Awards of India instituted since 1967 to actors who have delivered the best performanc ...

, was starred in over 200 films in his career; however, post '' Chomana Dudi'', he only played minor roles. B. Saroja Devi is One of the most successful female leads in the history of Indian cinema, she acted in around 200 films in over six decades. She is known by the epithets "''Abinaya Saraswathi''" (

Saraswati Saraswati ( sa, सरस्वती, ) is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, art, speech, wisdom, and learning. She is one of the Tridevi, along with the goddesses Lakshmi and Parvati. The earliest known mention of Saraswati as a g ...

of acting) in Kannada and "''Kannadathu Paingili''" (Kannada's Parrot) in Tamil.

Neo-realistic cinema

Kannada Cinema majorly contributed to the

parallel cinema Parallel cinema, or New Indian Cinema, is a film movement in Indian cinema that originated in the state of West Bengal in the 1950s as an alternative to the mainstream commercial Indian cinema. Inspired by Italian Neorealism, Parallel Cinema ...

movement of India. Directors like

, G. V. Iyer were the early names to join the movement. T. S. Nagabharana and B. V. Karanth were also popular names in the movement. Puttanna Kanagal's films were however considered a bridge between Mainstream and Parallel Cinema.

Modern era

Prakash Raj began his acting career with Doordarshan serials such as ''Bisilu Kudure'' (Kannada) and '' Guddada Bhootha'' ( Tulu and Kannada). He later took up supporting roles in

films such as ''Ramachari'', '' Ranadheera'', '' Nishkarsha'' and '' Lockup Death''. He was known for his dialogue delivery and histrionics. His breakthrough role came in '' Harakeya Kuri'', directed by K. S. L. Swamy starring Vishnuvardhan, with whom he had acted in other films such as '' Mithileya Seetheyaru'', '' Muthina Haara'' and '' Nishkarsha''. Prakash re-entered Kannada films through '' Nagamandala'' in 1997, directed by T. S. Nagabharana. Veteran Kannada actor Shakti Prasad's son

Arjun Sarja Srinivasa "Arjun" Sarja is an Indian actor, producer, and director who works predominantly in the Tamil film industry, in addition to Kannada and Telugu languages as well. Referred to by the media and his fans as " Action King" for his roles i ...

is known for his work in South Indian cinema. He starred in movies such as

Prasad 200px, Prasad thaal offered to Swaminarayan temple in Ahmedabad ">Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Ahmedabad">Swaminarayan temple in Ahmedabad Prasada (, Sanskrit: प्रसाद, ), Prasadam or Prasad is a religious offering in Hinduism. Most o ...

; the film was screened at the Berlin Film Festival and Arjun received the Karnataka State Award for his performance in it. Sanchari Vijay's portrayal of a transgender won him the National Best Actor Award. With the award, Vijay became the third actor after M. V. Vasudeva Rao, and Charuhasan to win the National Award for Best Actor for a performance in a Kannada film.

Shiva Rajkumar Nagaraju Shiva Puttaswamy (born 12 July 1962) known by his screen name Shiva Rajkumar, is an Indian actor, producer and television presenter, predominantly works in Kannada cinema.

is known for his work in '' Janumada Jodi'', '' Anand'', '' Ratha Sapthami'', ''

Nammoora Mandara Hoove ''Nammoora Mandara Hoove'' () is a 1996 Indian Kannada-language film directed by Sunil Kumar Desai starring Shiva Rajkumar, Ramesh Aravind and Prema in lead roles. It's considered one of the all-time blockbuster romantic movies in Kannada Film ...

'', '' Om'', ''

Simhada Mari ''Simhada Mari'' () is a 1997 Indian Kannada-language action drama film directed by Om Prakash Rao and produced by Ramu. The film stars Shiva Rajkumar, Telugu actor Krishnam Raju and debutant Simran. The flash back portion which is considered ...

'' and '' Chigurida Kanasu''. He acted in ''

Sugreeva ''This character is about the vanara, in the Ramayana.'' Sugriva ( sa, सुग्रीव, , ) is a character In the ancient Indian epic Ramayana. He is the younger brother of Vali, whom he succeeded as ruler of the vanara kingdom of Kish ...

'', which was shot in 18 hours. His ''Om'', directed by Upendra, set a trend of gangster movies in

and other film industries in India. It continues to be shown even to this day. Rockline Venkatesh founded Rockline Entertainments which has produced over twenty five films as of 2012. New age actors - Yash, Darshan,

Puneeth Rajkumar Puneeth Rajkumar (17 March 1975 – 29 October 2021), colloquially known as Appu, was an Indian actor, playback singer, television presenter, and producer, who worked in Kannada cinema. He was the youngest son of actor and matinee idol Dr. Raj ...

, Rakshit Shetty and Sudeepa are some of the highest paid actors in Sandalwood. The Rakshit Shetty starrer '' Kirik Party'' went on to become one of the highest-grossing Kannada films by collecting ₹ 50

crores A crore (; abbreviated cr) denotes ten million (10,000,000 or 107 in scientific notation) and is equal to 100 lakh in the Indian numbering system. It is written as 1,00,00,000 with the local 2,2,3 style of digit group separators (one lakh is eq ...

against a production budget ₹ 4 crores and completed 150 days in the main cities of

. The 2015 release '' RangiTaranga'' starring Nirup Bhandari and directed by Anup Bhandari, created overseas market for Kannada cinema with a mega release, amassing $318,000 in USA alone. It went on to become the first Kannada film to enter the New York Box office listing, the first Kannada film to complete 50 days in USA and the first Kannada movie ever to release in several countries across the world. It ran for 365 days in Bangalore. In 2018, Yash starrer '' K.G.F: Chapter 1'' became the first

film to gross ₹250 crores at the box office. Its sequel, '' K.G.F: Chapter 2'' (2022) made ₹ 1000

at the box office. Its teaser gained more than 250 million views on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

as of April 2022. In 2022, Yash starrer '' K.G.F: Chapter 2'' became the highest-grossing Kannada film of all time with a record collection of over ₹1000 crores within India itself. Kananda cinema is reported to have 8% market share in the gross domestic box office collections for the period January to July 2022 making it the fourth biggest Indian film industry.

Film scores

Composer Hamsalekha is usually referred to by the title ''Naadha Brahma'' ( The Brahma of Music) who is considered to be the major cause for the change in the music composing and lyric writing style which would appeal much to the younger generation. He integrated folk and introduced western musical sensibilities into the Kannada cinema. Mano Murthy scored the blockbuster film Mungaru Male starring Ganesh and Pooja Gandhi. Upon the album's release, it topped the charts with the song " Anisuthide" receiving significant radio and TV air time. The album emerged as a massive success topping every Kannada music chart. It was reported that by mid-May 2007, over 200,000 copies were sold in

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then released in Oc ...

International recognition

The 1964 movie '' Naandi'' set a landmark by being the first ever Kannada film to be screened at an international film festival. It was screened at IFFI 1992 Kannada cinema Retrospect. The 1969 movie '' Uyyale'' was screened twice at the IFFI retrospect - once in 1992 and again in 2019. The 1970 movie '' Samskara'' won the Bronze Leopard at Locarno International Film Festival The 1977 movie '' Ghatashraddha'' which had the distinction of being shown at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, became the only Indian film to be chosen by the National Archive of Paris among 100 others, during the centenary celebrations of cinema. It also won the Ducats Award at the Manneham Film Festival Germany. At the 2009 International Film Festival of India, it was announced one of the 20 best films in

, having received 1.6 million votes. The 1978 movie '' Ondanondu Kaladalli'' was released at The Guild Theatre,

50 Rockefeller Plaza 50 Rockefeller Plaza (formerly the Associated Press Building) is a 15-story building located at Rockefeller Plaza between 50th and 51st Streets in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Completed in 1938, the building is part of Rockefeller Center, w ...

on 17 May 1982. Vincent Canby, the chief film critic of

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

, called the movie "that is both exotic as well as surprising in view of all the bodies on the ground at the end, sweet natured!". The film was subtitled into English for its American premiere on 18 October 1995 in Shriver Hall at the

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...

as part of the 1995 Milton S. Eisenhower Symposium "Framing Society : A Century of Cinema". The 1987 film '' Pushpaka Vimana'' featured retrospectively in the

Shanghai International Film Festival The Shanghai International Film Festival (, French: ''Festival international du film de Shanghai''), abbreviated SIFF, is one of the largest film festivals in East Asia. "China's biggest film festival" according to the Hollywood Reporter. Nex ...

and Whistling Woods Film Festival. The 1999 film '' Upendra'' was screened at the

Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival The , also sometimes called YIFFF, is held in a resort-like environment in the small town of Yūbari on the northernmost Japanese island of Hokkaidō. From 1990 to 1999, the festival was known as the Yubari International Fantastic Adventure Fil ...

in Japan in 2001. The 1999 movie '' Deveeri'' was selected for 18 international film festivals including the 44th London International Film Festival and the

Cairo International Film Festival The Cairo International Film Festival ( ar, مهرجان القاهرة السينمائي الدولي) is an annual internationally accredited film festival held in Cairo Opera House. It was established in 1976 and has taken place every year si ...

. The 2000 movie '' Munnudi'' was screened at Palm Springs International Film Festival (2002). The 2002 movie '' Atithi'' was screened at

. The 2002 movie '' Dweepa'' was screened at the Moscow International Film Festival. The 2004 movie '' Hasina'' was screened at Berlin's Asia Pacific Film Festival. The 2004 movie ''Bimba'' was selected for the

Bangkok International Film Festival The Bangkok International Film Festival (BKKIFF) ( th, เทศกาลภาพยนตร์นานาชาติกรุงเทพฯ) is an international film festival held annually in Bangkok, Thailand, since 2003. In addition to fi ...

. The 2006 movie '' Thutturi'' won the ''Best Audience Award'' at the 9th Dhaka International Film Festival. and won the ''Earth Vision Award of 2005-06'' at the 15th Tokyo Global Environmental Film Festival. The 2006 movie '' Naayi Neralu'' was screened at six international film festivals including International Film Festival Rotterdam,

, Palm Springs International Film Festival , Osian's Film Festival and the Karachi International Film Festival. The 2006 movie '' Care of Footpath'' was selected for the ''Kids for Kids Film Festival'' at Cyprus and the 2006 film ''

Cyanide Cyanide is a naturally occurring, rapidly acting, toxic chemical that can exist in many different forms. In chemistry, a cyanide () is a chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of ...

'' was selected for the London Film Festival. The 2010 movie '' Kanasemba Kudureyaneri'' won the NETPAC Award at the ''Asiatica Film Mediale (Italy)'' (2010). The 2011 film '' Koormavatara'' was screened in 17 film festivals and won acclaims at the film festivals of

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

, New York and

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

. The 2013 movie '' Lucia'' premiered at the London Indian Film Festival on 20 July 2013. It won the Best Film Audience Choice award at the festival. It was also screened at the Zurich Film Festival. The 2015 movie '' Thithi'' won accolades at multiple international film festivals including the 68th Locarno International Film Festival and the 19th

. The 2016 movie '' Railway Children'' won the ''Ecumenical Jury Award'' (special mention) at Zlín Film Festival. The 2016 film ''Bombeyaata'' won three awards at seven International Film Festivals. The 2018 movie '' Nathicharami'' and '' Balekempa'' were screened at the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival. ''Balekempa'' also won the FIPRESCI Award at the 47th International Film Festival Rotterdam. The 2019 movie '' Arishadvarga'' also premiered at the London Indian Film Festival followed by the Asian Premiere at the Singapore South Asian International Film Festival and the North American Premiere at the Vancouver International South Asian Film Festival. The 2019 movie '' Manaroopa'' won 10 awards at various international film festivals including the ''Best Thriller Film'' at Out of the Can International Film Festival at England, ''Best Experimental Film'' at the Cafe Irani Chaii International Film Festival and was officially selected for the Miami Independent Film Festival in the United States and the Istanbul Film Awards in Turkey. In the post - pandemic era, Kannada cinema started making waves across the world in several international film festivals. ''Pinki Elli?'' was screened at around 50 International Film Festivals including the Prague International Film Festival and the Hainan International Film Festival. It opened the

Busan International Film Festival The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF, previously Pusan International Film Festival, PIFF), held annually in Haeundae-gu, Busan (''also'' Pusan), South Korea, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. The first festiv ...

and was screened at

Hong Kong International Film Festival The Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF), is one of Asia’s oldest international film festivals. Founded in 1976, the festival features different movies, filmmakers from different countries in Hong Kong. HKIFF screens around 230 films ...

. It won three awards at the New York Indian Film Festival. It also won the ''Best Film'' award at the Asian Film Festival Barcelona 2021. ''Amruthamathi'' was screened at ten international film festivals including Boston Film Festival ,

Atlanta Film Festival The Atlanta Film Festival (ATLFF) is a long-running, international film festival held in Atlanta, Georgia operated by the Atlanta Film Society, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Started in 1976 and occurring every spring, the festival shows a ...

, Austria Film Festival and won multiple awards. Abhilash Shetty's '' Koli Taal'' premiered at the 21st New York Indian Film Festival. It was then screened at various film festivals including the 18th Indian Film Festival of Stuttgart and the 12th

Indian Film Festival of Melbourne The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) is a Victoria State Government-funded annual festival based in Melbourne founded in 2012. It is presented by Film Victoria, and the provider is chosen through a tender process. The current tender prov ...

. ''Neeli Hakki'' was selected for multiple international Film festivals including the New York Indian Film Festival. ''Daari Yaavudayya Vaikunthakke ?'' won a total of 94 awards including multiple awards at Rajasthan Film Festival and other international film festivals like Sundance Film Festival, Barcelona, Nawada and Golden Sparrow International Film Festivals. ''Illiralaare Allige Hogalaare'' won the ''Director's Vision Award'' at the 18th Indian Film Festival of Stuggart. It was earlier screened at the Dhaka International Film Festival and had won an award at the

Rome Film Festival International Rome Film Fest is a film festival that takes place in Rome during the month of October. The name in Italian is Festa del Cinema di Roma. Sections The Rome Film Festival official program is divided into several sections: Cinema d'O ...

. It also won award at the Spain International Film Festival in Madrid. Baraguru Ramachandrappa's ''Mooka Nayaka'' won the ''Best Picture of the Decade'' Award by competing with movies from different languages around the globe. ''Jeevnane Nataka Samy'' (2021) was screened at Miami International Film Festival. ''Avalakki Pavalakki'' won five awards in various categories at Uravatti International Film Festival, Indo Global International Film Festival, American Golden Pictures International Film Festival, Oniros Film Festival and the Sweden Film Festival. ''Rudri'' won multiple awards at Oniros Film Festival, Tagore International Film Festival and the Vindhya International Film Festival. ''Naanu Ladies'' had its world premier at the 16th Tasveer South Asian Film Festival in Seattle. It went on to win the ''Best Narrative Feature Award'' at the Kashish Mumbai International Queer Film Festival. ''Pedro'' had its world premiere in the ''New Currents'' Section at the 26th edition of the

. and was shortlisted for the Directors Fortnight Cannes 2020. It went on to win the ''Best Director Award'' in the Crouching Tigers competition section at the

Pingyao International Film Festival The Pingyao International Film Festival (PYIFF), officially as "Pingyao Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon International Film Festival", is a film festival held in Pingyao, Shanxi, China. It was launched in October 2017 by Jia Zhangke, a Chinese fil ...

in Shanxi, China. It was also the joint winner of the ''Montgolfiere D'Argent Award'' at the Festival Des 3 Continents, France. It was also screened at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles(IFFLA) and at the ''Indian Film Festival of Melbourne''.''Dollu'' was screened at the Dhaka International Film Festival. It was shortlisted for screening at 72nd Berlinale's European Film Market and the Dallas ft worth South Asian Film Festival (virtual). It was also screened at the Caleidoscope Indian Film Festival Boston where it won the ''Best Indian Film'' award. It also won the ''Best Kannada Movie'' award at Innovative International Film Festival. ''Namma Magu'' received recognition from the International Organization for Migration (IOM). ''Taledanda'' (2022) was selected for London International Film Festival. ''Koli Esru'' was selected for screening at New York Indian Film Festival (2022). ''Shivamma'' was selected for '' Marche du Film'' (2022) - the business counterpart of the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

. It was also screened at the 27th

where it won the ''New Currents Award'' given to first or second feature film of a new Asian director. It also won the ''Young Jury Award'' at the 44th edition of the '' Three Continents Festival''. It was also selected for screening at the US and Australian film festivals in 2023. ''Man Of The Match'' (2022), produced by

, was selected for screening at the 14th New York City Independent Film Festival in the foreign film category. In 2022, '' Shuddhi'' (2017) and '' Bell Bottom'' (2019) premiered at the ''Indian Film Week'' in Japan. ''Vagachi Pani'' was selected for the co-production market at the film festival in Busan. ''Thayi Kastur Gandhi'' was screened at

LA Film Festival The LA Film Festival was an annual film festival that was held in Los Angeles, California, and usually took place in June. It showcased independent, international, feature, documentary and short films, as well as web series, music videos, epis ...

and it won the ''Best Editor'' award at the

Dallas International Film Festival The Dallas International Film Festival (DIFF), presented by Dallas Film, is an annual film festival that takes place in Dallas, Texas. About Dallas Film Dallas Film, established as Dallas Film Society, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization ...

National recognition

* The song ''Baare Baare'' from the 1972 movie '' Naagarahaavu'' was the first slow-motion song of Indian cinema. * The 1986 movie ''

Anuraga Aralithu ''Anuraga Aralithu'' () is a 1986 Indian Kannada-language film directed by M. S. Rajashekar. It is based on the Kannada novel ''Anuragada Anthahpura'' written by H. G. Radhadevi. The film was produced by M. S. Puttaswamy. The film stars Rajkum ...

'' was the first Indian movie to be remade in seven other languages. * The 1986 movie '' Africadalli Sheela'' was the first Indian movie to be shot in African forests. * The 1987 movie '' Ondu Muttina Kathe'' was the first Indian film to have an underwater action sequence shot in an ocean outside India without the help of oxygen mask. * The 1989 movie '' Idu Saadhya'' created a record by becoming the first Indian movie to be shot within a span of 36 hours. * The 1995 movie '' Om'' is the only Indian movie to have been re-released 550 times. * The 2005 movie '' Shanti'' was the second Indian film to enter the Guinness Book of World Records in the ''Fewest actors in a narrative film'' category. It had only one actor with the other characters represented through voice and no physical appearance. * The 2006 Kannada movie '' Mungaru Male'' was the first Indian movie to run for a year in a multiplex. * The 2022 film '' K.G.F: Chapter 2'' became the first movie to gross more than ₹400 crores within India in its opening weekend. It also became the first South Indian movie to gross more than ₹550 crores in its opening weekend. * The 2022 film '' Kantara'' collected ₹25.5 crore in its sixth weekend which was reported to be the highest sixth weekend collection as well as the highest sixth week collection for an Indian movie.

Awards

Dadasaheb Phalke Award The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India's highest award in the field of cinema. It is presented annually at the National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals, an organisation set up by the Ministry of Information and Broad ...
ees

National Film Award for Best Feature Film The National Award for Best Feature Film is one of the categories in the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in India. It is one of se ...

State Recognition

* Karnataka State Film Awards *

Udaya Film Awards The Udaya Film Awards is the most prominent award ceremony for Kannada films presented annually by Udaya TV, a Kannada-language division of the Sun Network, from the south-Indian state of Karnataka. The awards ceremony has been instituted to ...

* Suvarna Film Awards

State film festivals

* Bangalore International Film Festival

Other awards

* Filmfare Awards South * SIIMA Awards *

IIFA Utsavam The annual IIFA Utsavam rewards the artistic and technical achievements of the South Indian film industry. The ceremony is organised by Wizcraft International, the team behind the IIFA Awards, and represents Tamil cinema, Telugu cinema, Malay ...

Mirchi Music Awards South Mirchi Music Awards South is the South Indian segment of the annual Mirchi Music Awards, presented by Radio Mirchi to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the South Indian music industry. The awards are separately giv ...

* South Scope Awards

Film schools

The first government institute in India to start technical courses related to films was established in 1941 named as occupational institute then called the Sri Jayachamarajendra (S J) Polytechnic in

. In September 1996, two specialised courses, Cinematography and Sound & Television were separated and the

Government Film and Television Institute The Government Film & Television Institute, Bangalore (formerly a part of S.J.Polytechnic) is believed as the first government institute in India to start technical courses related to films. It is one of the few government film institutes in Ind ...

was started at Hesaraghatta, under the World Bank Assisted Project for Technician Development in India.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cinema Of Karnataka Cinema of Karnataka Kannada-language films