The eldest son of thespian late Dr Rajkumar started his acting journey as a child artist with 'Sri Srinivasa Kalyana' (1974).
Dr Shiva Rajkumar is fondly referred to as Shivanna. (NimmaShivanna/ Twitter)
Karunada Chakravarthy Dr Shiva Rajkumar, who is fondly referred to as “Shivanna” by all his admirers, turns 61 today, 12 July.
His undying passion towards acting, childlike enthusiasm, and energetic performances in 125-plus movies in an illustrious career spanning over 37 grand years are an inspiration for many generations to come.
Marking the occasion, let’s take a look at some of the blockbuster Kannada films of Shivanna that were remade in other languages.
‘Ratha Sapthami’. (Wikipedia)
Shivanna is the eldest son of Kannada thespian late Dr Rajkumar. He started his silver screen journey as a child artist in Sri Srinivasa Kalyana (1974).
Twelve years later, he made his debut as a hero with Anand (1986). In Ratha Sapthami (1987), directed by MS Rajshekhar, where he starred alongside Asha Rani, daughter of yesteryear actor late Rajesh.
Incidentally, it was her only film before she quit acting, post her marriage to star actor Arjun Sarja. The film was eventually remade in Tamil as Love Birds (1996).
The second half of Ratha Sapthami has a major twist where the hero dies in a road accident and a look-alike enters the picture later. Interestinlgy, this twist inspired Bollywood super hit film Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai (2000) which marked the acting debut of Hrithik Roshan.
Shivanna starrer ‘Manamecchida Hudugi’ poster.(Wikipedia)
After back-to-back success with Anand and Ratha Sapthami, Shiva Rajkumar returned yet again with director MS Rajashekhar’s blockbuster Manamecchida Hudugi (1987).
This third consecutive success earned him the nickname “Hat-Trick Hero Shiva Rajkumar”.
Here, he was paired again with Anand actress Sudharani.
Manamecchida Hudugi is based on the novel Bete by Kum. Veerabhadrappa
It was remade in Tamil as Annakili Sonna Kathai (1989) where the actress reprised her role.
‘Om’ poster. Wikipedia)
Released in 1995, Om is considered one of the milestones not just in Shivanna’s career but also in the Kannada film industry.
This cult classic gangster movie based on the underworld subject was directed by Upendra. The filmmaker eventually attained stardom as an actor, too, in the later years.
Om entered the Limca Book of Records for being the only film to be re-released over 550 times since its first release in 1995.
Shivanna played the iconic role of Satyamurthy Shashtri alias Satya, considered one of the top performances in his career.
Om was remade in Telugu as Omkaram (1997) by Upendra. It starred Dr Rajshekar and Prema.
The Kannada movie was also an inspiration for the Hindi flick Arjun Pandit (1999) featuring Sunny Deol in the lead.
‘Namoora Mandara Hoove’ poster. (Wikipedia)
This cult classic romantic film directed by Sunil Kumar Desai hit the screens in 1996.
By then, Shivanna already delivered iconic blockbuster films like Om and Janumada Jodi (1996).
The triangular love story featuring Shivanna, Prema and Ramesh Aravind is an all-time romantic hit in Sandalwood’s history. It was even screened in the US for some time.
This was remade in Tamil as Kangalin Vaarthaigal (1998), with “Chiyaan” Vikram in the lead.
Music Maestro Ilayairaaja composed the soundtrack and background score for both versions.
Chigurida Kanasu is another musical hit released in 2003. Shivanna starred alongside Anantnag here.
Directed by TS Nagabharana, it is based on the novel (1951) of the same name penned by Jnanpith Awardee K Shivaram Karanth.
It inspired the Hindi venture Swades (2004) directed by Ashutosh Gowariker and featuring Shah Rukh Khan. Swades is considered one of the milestones in Shah Rukh’s career, thanks to his finest performance as Mohan Bhargav.
‘Jogi’ (YouTube Screengrab)
After Om, Shivanna returned with yet another all-time blockbuster film based on the underworld mafia — Jogi (2005).
Directed by Prem, the movie also casted Arundhati Nag and Jennifer Kotwal.
It ran for more than 100 days in at least 60-plus theatres in Karnataka.
The film was remade in Telugu as Yogi (2007) with Prabhas and Nayanthara, and in Tamil as Parattai Engira Azhagu Sundaram (2007) with Dhanush and Meera Jasmine.
Unfortunately, the Tamil version bombed at the box office.
A few more hit films of Shivanna were remade in other languages.
Anna Thangi (2005) was remade in Telugu as Gorintaku (2008), AK 47 (1999) in Telugu with Sai Kumar and in Hindi (2004) with Aditya with the same title.
Rishi (2005) was remade in Telugu as Bangaru Babu with Jagapati Babu in 2009.
Mufti (2017) was remade in Tamil as Pathu Thala with Silambarasan in 2023.
Shivalinga (2017) was remade in Tamil with Raghava Lawrence with the same title. Director P Vasu helmed both versions.
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