With his debut venture 'Jimmy', Kiccha Sudeep's nephew will kickstart his cine journey both as director and lead actor.
Lead actors cum directors of Kannada film industry. (Supplied)
The Kannada film industry has produced some of the finest directors to date. Amongst them are a few who not only made a mark for themselves by wielding the megaphone as directors but also attained equal stardom by playing the lead actors.
Well, a handful of them are quite popular for their direction skills than acting.
Sanchith Sanjeev, the nephew of Kannada star actor Kiccha Sudeepa, is the latest addition to the long list of acclaimed lead actors-cum-directors from the Sandalwood.
While several directors have tried their luck with acting, only a few managed to attain a similar level of stardom, especially as lead actors.
In the initial Black-and-White era, directors used to act; not in the lead roles but more as supporting characters.
The trend started to pick up in the 1980s with renowned film personalities such as Shankar Nag, V Ravichandran, Kashinath Upendra, Prem, and Kiccha Sudeep doing the act. Rakshit Shetty, Rishabh Shetty and Raj B Shetty are the recent additions.
Nevertheless, in a first, Sanchith Sanjeev becomes the first to make his debut both as an actor and director.
One of the finest in Indian cinema, Shankar Nag started his career with theatres and then in films with Girish Karnard’s epic film Ondanondu Kaladalli (1978).
He made his directorial debut with Minchina Ota (1980). Later, he went on to direct several award-winning films, including the popular TV series Malgudi Days (1986).
Known as the “Karate King”, Shankar Nag was equally popular as a hero in commercial ventures.
Following his debut film Aparoopada Athithigalu (1976), Kashinath went on to act and direct several critically acclaimed films including Aparichita (1978) and Anubhava (1984).
Most of his films were women-centric and talked about major issues that were generally termed taboo in society back then.
V Ravichandran’s ‘Prema Loka’. (Supplied)
Son of popular South Indian film producer N Veeraswamy, V Ravichandran started as a child artist and then played a lead actor in a couple of projects.
However, he made his debut as a director with Prema Loka released in 1987. It starred Juhi Chawla as the female lead.
The film is considered a cult romantic classic that changed the path of Kannada filmmaking. It also holds several box office and music records to date.
Known for his mastery in the romantic genre, Ravichandran eventually became to be known for his extravagant and exuberant directorial skills and hence referred to as “showman” and more popularly as the crazy star.
‘Rama Shama Bhama’ by Ramesh Aravind. (Supplied)
Known for his acting skills, Ramesh Aravind is credited with 100-plus movies as an actor.
He began his cine journey with Sundara Swapnagalu (1986), directed by the legendary late K Balachander.
Along with his acting, he started writing for films with Hoomale (1998) and soon directed his first film Rama Shama Bhama starring Kamal Haasan and himself in the lead in 2005.
Thereafter, he directed several critically acclaimed films including, Uttama Villain (2015). He last directed 100 in 2021.
His latest as actor Shivaji Surathkal 2 (2023) did good business at the box office.
Upendra’s ‘A’. (Supplied)
Real star Upendra is another highly talented filmmaker for his realistic and different ventures. After assisting his mentor Kashinath in films, he started as a director with the film Tharle Nan Maga (1992) followed by Shhh! (1993).
His biggest break came with the cult classic Om starring Dr Shiva Rajkumar in 1995. The film still holds the record for most re-releases.
He then acted and directed films like A (1998), and Upendra (1999). Along with other ventures, he started acting in others’ direction earning him stardom as an actor.
He returned to the direction with Super (2010) and Uppi 2 (2015). His upcoming actor-director venture UI is scheduled to hit the screens in the coming months.
Kichcha Sudeep’s ‘My Autograph’. (Supplied)
After a couple of his initial films came to a grinding halt midway, Kiccha Sudeep made his debut in Thayavva (1997). He then did Prathyratha (1998) before Sparsha (2000) gave him a much-needed break.
However, Huccha (2001) earned him “star” status. In the flick, he played the lead role of “Kiccha” and he eventually is being referred to as “Kiccha Sudeep” since its success.
Kiccha Sudeep’s directorial was My Autograph in 2006, a remake of the Tamil film Autograph (2004) directed by Cheran.
So far, he helmed six movies as a filmmaker before getting busy with acting as a pan-India actor.
Rishab Shetty did a few minor roles in films like Tuglak (2012), Lucia (2013), and Ulidavaru Kandante (2014). He made his directorial debut with Ricky (2016).
His next Kirik Party (2016), starring Rakshit Shetty and Rashmika Mandanna, became one of the most successful films in the Kannada film industry, and there was no looking back since then.
Rishab Shetty not only excelled in direction but also in acting which made him one of the members of the elite club of the most popular directors-lead actors.
His latest venture Kantara (2022) is a milestone in Sandalwood. He is presently busy with its sequel.
After his stint as an actor in the film Simple Agi Ondu Love Story (2013), Raksht Shetty’s most ambitious venture as a director was Ulidavaru Kandante (2014).
Though the films didn’t do great business at the box office, as expected, they earned him respect as a director. It is still considered as one of the finest works.
His next Richard Anthony is in the pipeline even as he continues to charm his fans with his impeccable acting skills in films.
Raj B Shetty made his acting-cum-directorial debut with the comedy-drama Ondu Motteya Kathe (2017). Its instant success led him to direct films and as well as act.
His notable work in Garuda Gama Vrishaba Vahana (2021) cemented his status as an actor and director. He even directed a minor portion of Kantara. Swathi Mutthina Male Haniye is his next as a director-cum-actor.
Amongst others who attempted both acting in a lead role and directing include Prem who directed box office hits like Jogi (2005), and Jogayya (2011), and Darling Krishna who did Love Mocktail (2020) and Love Mocktail 2 (2022).
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