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

Indian cinema The cinema of India, consisting of motion pictures made by the Indian film industry, has had a large effect on world cinema since the second half of the 20th century. Indian cinema is made up of various film industries, each focused on p ...

dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the

Kannada language Kannada () is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, an ...

widely spoken in the state of

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

. Kannada cinema is based in Gandhi Nagar, Bengaluru. The 1934 film '' Sati Sulochana'' directed by Y. V. Rao was the first talkie film released in the Kannada language. It was also the first film starring Subbaiah Naidu and Tripuramba, and the first screened in the erstwhile Mysore Kingdom. It was produced by Chamanlal Doongaji, who in 1932 founded ''South India Movietone'' in

Bengaluru Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

. 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),

Girish Karnad Girish Karnad (19 May 1938 – 10 June 2019) was an Indian playwright, actor, film director, Kannada writer, and a Jnanpith awardee, who predominantly worked in Kannada, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Marathi films. His rise as a playwr ...

's '' Kaadu'' (1973), (based on ''Kaadu'' by Srikrishna Alanahalli), Pattabhirama Reddy's '' Samskara'' (1970) (based on ''Samskara'' by U. R. Ananthamurthy), which won the Bronze Leopard at

Locarno International Film Festival The Locarno International Film Festival is a major international film festival, held annually in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narr ...

, and T. S. Nagabharana's ''Mysuru Mallige'' (1992), 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 The Moscow International Film Festival (, Transliteration, translit. ''Moskóvskiy myezhdunaródniy kinofyestivál''; abbreviated as MIFF) is a film festival first held in Moscow in 1935 and became regular since 1959. From its inception to ...

Singeetam Srinivasa Rao Singeetam Srinivasa Rao (born 21 September 1931) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer, composer, and actor. He is widely regarded as one of India's most versatile and innovative filmmakers. He has directed around sixty films across ...

's silent film '' Pushpaka Vimana'' (1987),

Ram Gopal Varma Penmetsa Ram Gopal Varma (born 7 April 1962), often referred to by his initials RGV, is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer, primarily known for his work in Hindi cinema, Hindi and Telugu cinema, Telugu films.** * * Varma has dir ...

's docudrama '' Killing Veerappan'' (2016), Prashanth Neel's action franchise '' K. G. F. film series'' being the highest-grossing Kannada film, and

Rishab Shetty Prashanth Shetty (born 7 July 1983), known professionally as Rishab Shetty, is an Indian actor, film director, film producer and screenwriter who works in Kannada cinema . He is known for his critical and commercial blockbuster, '' Kantara'', ...

's '' Kantara'' (2022). 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 began new era for the industry in terms of popularity, quality content and collections. However, the market share of Kannada movies in the gross domestic box office collections declined to 2% in 2023 with the footfalls dropping from 8.1 to 3.2 crores in 2022.

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 befo ...

, '' 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. Kolhapur is one of the most significant cities in South Maharashtra and has been a hub of historical, religious, and cultural a ...

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

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

. In 1949,

Honnappa Bhagavathar Chowdasandra Honnappa Bhagavathar (14 January 1915 – 2 October 1992; ) was an Indian theatre and film actor, producer, musician and singer. He was best known as a singer and as one of the pioneers of Kannada cinema. He was also active in Tami ...

, 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 () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

, 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'' (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, Sri 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 ''Naagarahaavu'' ( ) is a 1972 Indian Kannada-language film directed by Puttanna Kanagal, based on T. R. Subba Rao's three novels ''Nagarahavu'', ''Ondu Gandu Eradu Hennu'' and ''Sarpa Mathsara'', and starring Vishnuvardhan, Aarathi, K. S. A ...

'', directed by

Puttanna Kanagal Shubraveshti Ramaswamiah Seetharama Sharma (1 December 1933 – 5 June 1985), known popularly as S. R. Puttanna Kanagal, was an Indian filmmaker known for his work in Kannada cinema. He is often considered one of Indian cinema's most influent ...

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

's National Award-winning Kannada film ''

'' (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 Mandya is a city in the state of Karnataka. It is the headquarter of Mandya district, Sugar factories contribute to the major economic output. It is also called Sugar City (Kannada: ''Sakkare Nagara'') because sugarcane is a major crop grown ...

) Rajkumar, Vishnuvardhan and Ambareesh are collectively known as Kannada cinema's triumvirate. Method actor Shankar Nag 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. M. V. Vasudeva Rao, the first Kannada actor to win National Film Award for Best Actor, 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 and has acted in around 200 films in over seven decades. She is known by the epithets "''Abinaya Saraswathi''" (

Saraswati Saraswati (, ), also spelled as Sarasvati, is one of the principal Devi, goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of knowledge, education, learning, arts, speech, poetry, music, purification, language and culture. Together with the godde ...

of acting) in Kannada and "''Kannadathu Paingili''" (Kannada's Parrot) in Tamil. M. V. Rajamma (first female producer of Indian cinema) and

Pandari Bai Pandari Bai (18 September 1928 – 29 January 2003) was an Indian actress who worked in South Indian cinema, mostly in Kannada cinema during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. She is considered Kannada cinema's first successful heroine. She has acted ...

are considered as the earliest female superstars of Kannada cinema. Other popular female actresses of 1950s through 1990s include Prathima devi, Harini, Leelavathi, Jayanthi, Kalpana, Bharathi,

Lakshmi Lakshmi (; , , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, , ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of wealth, fortune, prosperity, beauty, fertility, sovereignty, and abundance. She along with Parvat ...

Aarathi Aarathi (born as Bharathi in 1954) is a former Indian actress and director who prominently worked in Kannada films during the 1970s and 1980s. Her accolades include four Karnataka State Film Awards and four Filmfare Awards. Besides Kannada, ...

, Manjula, Jayamala, Arundathi, Suhasini, Sudharani, Tara, Malashree, Shruthi, Soundarya, Prema among others.

Neo-realistic cinema

Kannada Cinema majorly contributed to the

parallel cinema Parallel cinema, or New Indian Cinema, is a film movement in Cinema of India, 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, ...

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.

's films were however considered a bridge between Mainstream and Parallel Cinema.

Modern era

Prakash Raj Prakash Raj (born Prakash Rai; 26 March 1965) is an Indian actor, film director, producer, television presenter, and politician. Known for his works in Telugu language, Telugu, Tamil language, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, English language, Engl ...

began his acting career with

Doordarshan Doordarshan (), abbreviated as DD, is India's State-owned enterprise, state-owned public broadcasting, public television broadcaster. Established by the Government of India on 15 September 1959, it is owned by the Ministry of Information and B ...

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 Sarja (born 15 August 1962), better known by his stage name Action King Arjun, is an Indian actor, producer, and director who works predominantly in Tamil cinema. He has mainly acted in Tamil cinema, Tamil films in addition to Telugu ...

is known for his work in South Indian cinema. He starred in movies such as Prasad; 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 Charuhasan Srinivasan (born 5 January 1931) is an Indian actor, director and retired lawyer who has acted in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films. He won the National Film Award for Best ActorSubha J Rao,Entertainment for a cause, Th ...

to win the National Award for Best Actor for a performance in a Kannada film. Shiva Rajkumar is known for his work in '' Janumada Jodi'', '' Anand'', '' Ratha Sapthami'', '' Nammoora Mandara Hoove'', '' Om'', '' Simhada Mari'' and '' Chigurida Kanasu''. He acted in '' Sugreeva'', which was shot in 18 hours. His ''Om'', directed by

Upendra Upendra (Devanagari: उपेन्द्र) is an Indian masculine given name. The meaning of the Sanskrit word ' is "younger brother of Indra" and refers to either Krishna or Vishnu, who as a son of Aditi (or in the Vamana avatar) was born subs ...

, 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 - Sudeepa, Darshan,

Puneeth Rajkumar Dr. Puneeth Rajkumar (17 March 1975 – 29 October 2021), affectionately known as Appu (by his fans, after his first lead role in the movie Appu (2002 film), ''Appu''), was an Indian actor, playback singer, film producer, television presenter a ...

Ganesh Ganesha or Ganesh (, , ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped Deva (Hinduism), deities in the Hindu deities, Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in the Ganapatya sect. His depictions ...

, Yash and Rakshit Shetty are some of the highest paid actors in Sandalwood. Ganesh starrer Mungaru male was the first

film to cross the ₹50 crore box office collection mark. It was the first film to run for over 865 days in history of Karnataka. The Rakshit Shetty starrer '' Kirik Party'' went on to become one of the highest-grossing Kannada films by collecting ₹ 50 crores 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 crores at the box office. Its teaser trended No. 1 on youtube and gained more than 250 million views on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

as of April 2022, surpassing Avengers: Endgame views. 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. KGF: Chapter 2 was the first Kannada film to get international audiences, and bring the franchise for global reach.

Film scores

Composer Hamsalekha is usually referred to by the title ''Naadha Brahma'' ( The

Brahma Brahma (, ) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the triple deity, trinity of Para Brahman, supreme divinity that includes Vishnu and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity, Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 212– ...

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

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 media, digital optical disc data storage format co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. It employs the Compact Disc Digital Audio (CD-DA) standard and was capable of hol ...

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

. 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 The International Film Festival of India (IFFI), founded in 1952, is an annual film festival currently held in Goa, on the western coast of India. The festival aims at providing a common platform for the cinemas of the world to project the excel ...

, it was announced one of the 20 best films in

, having received 1.6 million votes. During February 2024, US film publication Variety announced that the

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November17, 1942) is an American filmmaker. One of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Martin Scorsese, many accolades, including an Academ ...

's World Cinema Project,

George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker and philanthropist. He created the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founded Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairman ...

' Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation and Shivendra Singh Dungarpur's Film Heritage Foundation (FHF) have partnered to restore the film in time for its 50th anniversary from the original camera negative preserved at India's

National Film Development Corporation of India The National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC) based in Mumbai is the central agency established in 1975, to encourage high quality Indian cinema. It functions in areas of film financing, production and distribution and under the Min ...

-National Film Archive of India. The restored version was showcased in the Venice Classics section of the 81st Venice International Film Festival. The 1978 movie '' Ondanondu Kaladalli'' was released at The Guild Theatre, 50 Rockefeller Plaza on 17 May 1982.

Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who was the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in 2000. ...

, the chief film critic of

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

, 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 The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

as part of the 1995 Milton S. Eisenhower Symposium "Framing Society : A Century of Cinema". The 1981 movie '' Simhada Mari Sainya'' was selected for the Paris and Moscow International Film Festivals. The 1987 film '' Pushpaka Vimana'' featured retrospectively in the Shanghai International Film Festival and Whistling Woods Film Festival. The 1999 film ''Upendra (film), Upendra'' was screened at the Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival in Japan in 2001. The 1999 movie ''Deveeri'' was selected for 18 international film festivals including the International Film Festival Rotterdam, Jeonju International Film Festival (2003), the 44th BFI London Film Festival, London International Film Festival and the Cairo International Film Festival. The 2000 movie ''Munnudi'' was screened at Palm Springs International Film Festival (2002). The 2002 movie ''Atithi (2002 film), Atithi'' was screened at Cairo International Film Festival. The 2002 movie '' Dweepa'' was screened at the

. The 2004 movie ''Hasina (film), Hasina'' was screened at Berlin's Asia Pacific Film Festival. The 2004 movie ''Bimba'' was selected for the Bangkok International Film Festival. 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, Bangkok International Film Festival, Palm Springs International Film Festival, Osian's Asian Film Festival (2006) 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 (2006 film), Cyanide'' 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 International Film Festival, Bangkok, New York Film Festival, New York and Vancouver International Film Festival, Vancouver. '' Prasad'' (2012) premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival and was reported to be the first Kannada movie to premier at that festival. The 2012 movie ''Edegarike'' was selected for Mumbai Women's International Film Festival (2013). The 2013 movie ''Lucia (film), 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 (film), Thithi'' won accolades at multiple international film festivals including the 68th Locarno Festival, Locarno International Film Festival and the 19th Shanghai International Film Festival. The 2016 movie ''Railway Children (film), 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. ''Hombanna'' (2017) won four awards at Five Continents International Film Festival, Venezuela and was also selected for screening at the 2017 Miami Independent Film Festival. The 2018 movie ''Nathicharami'' and ''Balekempa'' were screened at the Mumbai Academy of the Moving Image, 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 International Film Festival, Singapore South Asian International Film Festival and the North American Premiere at the Vancouver International Film Festival, 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. ''Bell Bottom (2019 film), Bell Bottom'' premiered at the ''Indian Film Week'' in Japan in 2020. 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 Febiofest, Prague International Film Festival and the Hainan International Film Festival. It opened the Busan International Film Festival and was screened at Hong Kong International Film Festival. 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, 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. ''Neeli Hakki'' was selected for multiple international Film festivals including the New York Indian Film Festival. ''Pinni'' (2020) was selected in the competition category at 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, 7 Colours International Film Festival and Golden Sparrow International Film Festival. ''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. 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 (2021 film), Pedro'' had its world premiere in the ''New Currents'' Section at the 26th edition of the Busan International Film Festival. 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 in Shanxi, China. It was also the joint winner of the ''Montgolfiere D'Argent Award'' at the Three Continents Festival, Festival Des 3 Continents, Nantes, France. It was screened at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles(IFFLA) and at the ''Indian Film Festival of Melbourne''. It was also screened at BFI London Film Festival, Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards, IndieLisboa International Film Festival, Kazan International Festival of Muslim Cinema, Kazan Film Festival, IFFSA Toronto and Greek Film Archive 12th Athens Avant-Garde Film Festival. ''Dollu'' was screened at the Dhaka International Film Festival. It was shortlisted for screening at 72nd Berlin International Film Festival, 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 BFI London Film Festival, 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. It was also screened at the 27th Busan International Film Festival 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 film), Shuddhi'' (2017) and ''Bell Bottom (2019 film), 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 and it won the ''Best Editor'' award at the Dallas International Film Festival. ''Hadinelentu'' was screened at the Jiseok section of the Busan International Film Festival (2022). ''1888'' was screened at several International film festivals across the world. The 2012 movie ''Edegarike'' was screened at the Indo-French International Film Festival in 2023. '' Kantara'', ''Koli Esru'' and ''Hadinelentu'' were nominated in various categories at the 14th edition of Indian Film Festival of Melbourne(IFFM) - 2023. ''Devara Kanasu'' was screened at around 30 film festivals, including an entry to participate in the panel screening and final selection of the Cannes Film Festival. ''Brahma Kamala'' won several awards and accolades at various film festivals including the Eediplay International Film Festival in France, Wonderland International Film Festival in Sydney, Old Monk International Film Festival in Nepal and the Indo-Singapore Film Festival. ''Shivamma'' won the Grand Prix Award at the 17th Andrei Tarkovsky Zerkalo International Film Festival, Ivanovo (2023). ''Hadinelentu'' and ''Koli Esru'' won awards at the Ottawa Indian Film Festival Awards 2023. ''Koli Esru'' also premiered at the Indo-German Film Week. ''Naanu Kusuma'' won award at the ''Gange Sur Garonne'' International Film Festival (2023) in France. ''Chinnara Chandra'' was selected for Ahmedabad International Children Film Festival and Melbourne International Film Festival. '' Kantara'' won the Special Jury Award, also known as the Silver Peacock Award - at the 54th

(2023) - making it the first Kannada movie to win that award. ''Mrityorma'' won four awards at the 6th Moonwhite Films International Film Festival. ''Timmana Mottegalu'' was screened at the 29th Kolkata International Film Festival. ''Tharini'' was selected for screening at the Rajasthan International Film Festival. ''Mikka Bannada Hakki'' won the Best Actor Award at the '' Shanghai International Film Festival'' (2024). ''Kenda'' premiered at the New York University Tisch School of the Arts and Switzerland. Sindhu Sreenivasa Murthy was selected for the British Academy Television Craft Award for Best Emerging Talent: Factual, BAFTA Breakthrough Talent Award 2024-25 for her debut directorial ''Aachar & Co''. ''Vagachipani'' premiered at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival (2025) and became the first Kannada film ever to have its premiere at that film festival. ''Alindia Radio'' was screened at the Indo-French International Film Festival (2025) and Indian Film Festival in Melbourne. ''Swapna Mantapa'' was selected for the Chicago International Film Festival and reached semi-finals in the competition section. ''My Hero'' (2025) won accolades at International Film Festivals in Canada, Thailand, the US, Italy, India, Sweden, Hungary, Russia, Singapore and Germany. The 2023 movie ''Ramzan'' won award at the 14th Universal Film Makers Council and Genesis Ultima International Film Festival (2025).

National recognition

* The 1959 movie ''Mahishasura Mardini'' was dubbed in seven other languages and is retrospectively identified as among the first major Pan-India films. * The song ''Baare Baare'' from the 1972 movie ''

'' was the first slow-motion song of Indian cinema. * The 1986 movie ''Anuraga Aralithu'' 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 1991 movie ''Shanti Kranti'' was the first Indian multilingual movie and was the List of most expensive Indian films, most expensive Indian film at the time of its release. * The 1995 movie '' Om'' is the only Indian movie to have been re-released 550 times. * The 2005 movie ''Shanti (film), 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 Cinema of South India, 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. Its seventh week collection of ₹24 crores was the highest for an Indian movie surpassing ₹11 crores collected by ''Baahubali 2: The Conclusion'' in its seventh week.

Awards

Dadasaheb Phalke Awardees

National Film Award for Best Feature Film

National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment, National Film Award for Best Popular Film

State recognition

State award

* Karnataka State Film Awards

State film festivals

* Bangalore International Film Festival

Other awards

* Filmfare Awards South * SIIMA Awards * IIFA Utsavam * Udaya Film Awards * Suvarna Film Awards * Mirchi Music Awards South * South Scope, South Scope Awards * Chandanavana Film Critics Academy Awards * Hello Gandhinagara Awards * Chittara Star 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 Bangalore. In September 1996, two specialised courses, Cinematography and Sound & Television were separated and the Government Film and Television Institute was started at Hesaraghatta, under the World Bank Assisted Project for Technician Development in India.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cinema Of Karnataka Kannada cinema, Cinema of Karnataka Kannada-language films Indian film industries