Kannada Cinema History

Kannada Cinema

• Kannada cinema is also known as Sandalwood or Chandanavana, and is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to producing motion pictures in the Kannada language.
• Kannada language is widely spoken in the state of Karnataka.

Early Years

• The first talkie film in the Kannada language was Sati Sulochana, directed by Y.V.Rao and released in 1934.
• Sati Sulochana was also the first film starring Subbaiah Naidu and Tripuramba.
• The film was produced by Chamanlal Doongaji, who founded South India Movietone in Bangalore in 1932.
• Sati Sulochana was the first motion picture screened in the erstwhile Mysore Kingdom.

Adaptations of Literary Works

• B.V.Karanth's Chomana Dudi (1975) was adapted from Shivaram Karanth's novel Chomana Dudi.
• Girish Karnad's Kaadu (1973) was adapted from Srikrishna Alanahalli's novel Kaadu.
• Pattabhirama Reddy's Samskara (1970) was adapted from U.R.Ananthamurthy's novel Samskara, and won the Bronze Leopard at Locarno International Film Festival.
• T.S.Nagabharana's Mysuru Mallige (1992) was based on the works of poet K.S.Narasimhaswamy.

Test your knowledge about the history, milestones, and prominent figures of the Kannada film industry, also known as Sandalwood or Chandanavana.