Vishnuvardhan (actor)

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Vishnuvardhan (actor) bigraphy, stories - Actor

Vishnuvardhan (actor) : biography

18 September 1950 – 30 December 2009

Sampath Kumar (18 September 1950 – 30 December 2009) popularly known as Dr. Vishnuvardhan, was a prominent Indian film actor. He was more than just an actor and had acquired the Demi-God status in Karnataka and was called The Phoenix of Indian Cinema. He has acted in Kannada, Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam and Tamil films. He acted in over 220 movies in total that includes 200 Kannada movies, 5 Hindi movies, 5 Telugu movies, 3 Malayalam movies and 6 Tamil movies. He was very instrumental in shaping the Kannada identity. He adopted the name Vishnuvardhan at the insistence of Puttanna Kanagal, who directed his maiden film, Naagarahaavu. This movie gave him the recognition of the ‘angry young man of Kannada cinema’.

Awards

Eight Filmfare Awards South

Vishnuvardhan had won the Filmfare Award for Best Kannada Actor 7 times and Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award once in 2002.http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?file=20100129270211000.htm&date=fl2702/&prd=fline

Ten Karnataka State Film Awards

Nine Awards for the Best Actor Category:

  • Naagarahaavu – 1972
  • Hombisilu – 1982
  • Bandhana – 1984
  • Suprabhata – 1988 (The only movie which won nine awards in the Kannada Film Industry)
  • Muthina Haara – 1990
  • Lion Jagapathi Rao – 1991
  • Laali – 1997
  • Veerappa Nayaka – 1998
  • Aaptha Rakshaka – 2009

One Award for his lifetime achievement:

  • Dr. Rajkumar State Award in 2008

Other awards

  • Honorary Doctorate awarded by Bangalore University in 2005
  • Aragini Reader’s Award
  • Cinema Express Awards
  • Tarangini Berkley
  • Indira Pratishtana National
  • Kaladevi Award (Chennai). Vishnuvardhan.com. Retrieved 7 January 2012.

Personal life

Vishnuvardhan was married to South actress Dr.Bharathi Vishnuvardhan. They have 2 children, Keerthi and Chandana.

Recognition

As an acknowledgement to his service to Indian cinema, the state government also decided to name its annual lifetime achievement award to long-serving film personalities after Vishnuvardhan, renaming it as the Karnataka State Dr. Vishnuvardhan Lifetime Achievement Award.

He has appeared on postage stamps issued by the Government of India.http://realtime.rediff.com/news/dr-vishnuvardhan

The State Government has named various roads and parks in the capital city Bengaluru after him. A park in Jayanagar, Bengaluru has also been named as ‘Dr.Vishnuvardhan Park’.

The government of Karnataka has also decided to build a film city in the name of Dr.Vishnuvardhan. It will be similar to the model of Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad. Sources indicate that once the film city comes up, all Kannada films related work will be done under a single roof.

There are also various statues erected in his honour, especially in Bengaluru. A high statue in Gowri Palya on 1 March 2012, Laggere on 4 March 2012, Kengeri on 9 October 2011, KP Agrahara in Vijayanagar on 11 March 2012 and in other places of Bengaluru and Karnataka were unveiled.

Vishnuvardhan was cremated at the Ambhimaan Studios, in the outskirts of Bengaluru on 30 Dec 2009 with full state honours. Almost all the leading politicians and actors were present there.

Career

Vishnuvardhan started his career with the National Award-winning movie Vamshavruksha (1972) directed by Girish Karnad based on the novel written by S. L. Bhyrappa. His first lead role in Naagarahaavu, directed by Puttanna Kanagal and based on a novel by T. R. Subba Rao. It was the first movie in Kannada film history to complete 100 days in 3 main theatres of Bangalore. In his thirty-five-year career, he played a variety of roles in more than 220 films.

Vishnu played a lead role in the 1988 movie Suprabhata. Vishnu’s performance in the movie earned him a state award in the best actor category. This movie was directed by Dinesh Baboo.