Veeraswamy Ravichandran (born 30 May 1961), known mononymously as Ravichandran, is an actor, director, producer, music director, lyricist and editor in the

Kannada Film Industry Kannada cinema, also known as Sandalwood, or Chandanavana, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Kannada language widely spoken in the state of Karnataka. The 1934 film '' Sati Sulochana'' directe ...

. He is the son of film producer

N. Veeraswamy Nagappa Veeraswamy (17 April 1932 – 23 August 1992) was Indian film producer and distributor, who produced under the house, Sri Eswari Productions. He produced 17 Kannada films and one Hindi film, from the early 1970s till his death in 1992. H ...

. As producer, Ravichandran continues to run his father's production house, Sri Eswari Productions. He is popularly known as "Crazy Star", a title fans have prefixed to his name.

Personal life

Ravichandran was born in Tirunelveli, Madras State (now Tamil Nadu), India to

and Pattammal. His father is N. Veeraswamy was a producer of South Indian film industry. Ravichandran married Sumathi, on the

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, throu ...

; 14 February 1986. The couple has a daughter Geethanjali, two sons Manoranjan and Vikram. Manoranjan made his acting debut with '' Saheba'' (2017). Ravichandran famous for bringing innovations to Kannada film industry through Premaloka (1987) and introducing ''

Juhi Chawla Juhi Chawla (born 13 November 1967) is an Indian actress, film producer and entrepreneur. She established herself as one of the leading actresses of Hindi cinema from the late 1980s through the early 2000s. Recognised for her comic timing and v ...

''.

Film career

He made his first on screen appearance as child actor in ''

Dhoomakethu ''Dhoomakethu'' is a 1968 Indian Kannada-language film, directed by R. N. Jayagopal. The film stars Rajkumar, Udaya Chandrika, Udaykumar and Narasimharaju. The film has musical score by T. G. Lingappa. This is the debut movie of R. N. Jay ...

'' and ''

Kula Gourava ''Kula Gourava'' () is a 1971 Indian Kannada language romantic drama film directed by Peketi Sivaram and written by G. Balasubramanyam. It stars Rajkumar in triple roles along with Bharathi and Jayanthi. The film was produced under Sri Eswari ...

'' - both starring

Dr.Rajkumar Singanalluru Puttaswamaiah Muthuraj (24 April 1929 – 12 April 2006), better known by his stage name Dr. Rajkumar, was an Indian actor and singer who worked in Kannada cinema. Regarded as one of the greatest actors in the history of Cinema of ...

, the latter also being his father's first movie as independent producer. He made his debut as a producer with ''Prema Matsara'' (1982). He began his acting career with an antagonist role in ''

Khadeema Kallaru ''Khadeema Kallaru'' is a 1982 Indian Kannada film directed by Vijay and produced by V. Ravichandran. The film stars Ambareesh, Prabhakar, Jayamala and V. Ravichandran in lead roles. The film is Ravichandran's first film as an actor and second as ...

'' (1982) which was produced by him. His second film was ''

Chakravyuha The Padmavyūha ( sa, पद्मव्यूह) or Chakravyūha ( sa, चक्रव्यूह) is a military formation used to surround enemies, depicted in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. It resembles a labyrinth of multiple defensive ...

'' (1983) which was also co-produced by him. He then appeared in few more successful films before casting himself in ''

Premaloka ''Premaloka'' in Kannada (), ''Paruva Ragam'' in Tamil (), is a 1987 bilingual romantic musical film, written and directed by V. Ravichandran in his directorial debut based on the 1982 movie ''Grease 2''. He additionally served as the lead actor ...

'' (1987) which turned out to be a blockbuster. He is often considered as "The Show Man" of Kannada cinema for his multi-faceted works in his associated films. Ravichandran initially acted in and directed movies produced by his own banner, Eswari Productions. After ''

'', he accepted acting offers from other producers. He has worked with leading directors of the Kannada film industry such as

Rajendra Singh Babu S. V. Rajendra Singh Babu (born 22 October 1952) is an Indian filmmaker and occasional actor who works primarily in Kannada cinema. He was born and brought up in Mysore. His father Shankar Singh produced many films under the banner Mahatma Pict ...

and

D. Rajendra Babu D. Rajendra Babu (30 March 1951 – 3 November 2013) was an Indian filmmaker and screenplay writer in Kannada cinema. He has directed over 50 films in various genres, most of them being sentimental films. He wrote and directed numerous blockbust ...

. His association with D. Rajendra Babu is very successful, resulting in several hits, including ''

Naanu Nanna Hendthi ''Naanu Nanna Hendthi'' () is a 1985 Kannada-language romantic drama film directed by D. Rajendra Babu and written by K. S. Satyanarayan. The film stars V. Ravichandran, Urvashi and Leelavathi. The soundtrack and score composition was by Shan ...

'' (1985), ''

Ramachaari ''Ramachaari'' is a 1991 Indian Kannada-language film directed by D. Rajendra Babu and produced by N. Veeraswamy. It starred Ravichandran (Kannada actor), Ravichandran and Malashri. The music was composed by Hamsalekha. The film was a remake of ...

'' (1991), ''

Sriramachandra ''Sriramachandra'' is a 1992 Indian Kannada-language film directed by D. Rajendra Babu and produced by P. Dhanraj. The film stars Ravichandran in dual roles, along with Mohini, Vajramuni and Srinath amongst others. The music and lyrics were compo ...

'' (1992), '' Annayya'' (1993) and ''

Yaare Neenu Cheluve ''Yaare Neenu Cheluve'' () is a 1998 Indian Kannada-language romantic drama film directed by D. Rajendra Babu and produced by Rockline Venkatesh. The film stars Ravichandran, Sangita and Heera Rajagopal. Popular actors such as Vishnuvardhan, Ra ...

'' (1998). ''

Shanti Kranti ''Shanti Kranti'' () is a 1991 Indian action film produced and directed by V. Ravichandran under his Eshwari Productions banner. The film starred Ravichandran and Juhi Chawla in lead roles, while Ramesh Aravind, Khushbu and Anant Nag play suppor ...

'' (1991) was the most expensive film ever made in Kannada industry at that time. The film was a multilingual project with

Rajinikanth Shivaji Rao Gaikwad (born 12 December 1950), known professionally as Rajinikanth, is an Indian actor, producer and screenwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has done 160 films that includes films in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannad ...

and

Nagarjuna Nāgārjuna . 150 – c. 250 CE (disputed)was an Indian Mahāyāna Buddhist thinker, scholar-saint and philosopher. He is widely considered one of the most important Buddhist philosophers.Garfield, Jay L. (1995), ''The Fundamental Wisdom of ...

in prominent roles in Tamil and Telugu respectively. ''

'' (1991), ''

Halli Meshtru ''Halli Meshtru'' () is a 1992 Kannada-language romantic comedy film directed by Mohan-Manju. The film starred Ravichandran, Bindiya and Tara in key roles with Balakrishna, Thoogudeepa Srinivas and Silk Smitha playing supporting roles. The f ...

'' (1992), ''

Putnanja ''Putnanja'' is a 1995 Kannada language film directed by Ravichandran and produced by A. Narsimhan. This film stars Ravichandran, Meena, Umashri, Lokesh in lead roles. Music was composed by Hamsalekha. The film's plot was inspired by the 1972 T ...

'' (1995) were notable blockbusters in 90s. Ravichandran and Hamsalekha collaborated on dozens of movies. The end of their long-standing partnership proved to be unsuccessful for both of them. In 2002, Ravichandran embarked on an ambitious film called ''

Ekangi ''Ekangi'' is a 2002 Indian Kannada-language film written, directed by and starring Ravichandran. He also wrote film's screenplay and composed the music. The film stars Ramya Krishna and Prakash Raj, with Vanitha Vasu, Sridhar, Ramesh Bhat an ...

''. Shot inside a massive glass mansion built at a cost of Rs 80 lakh, it was a unique take on loneliness. The success of ''

Malla Malla may refer to: Places ;Bolivia *Malla, Bolivia, a locality *Malla Jawira, a river * Malla Jaqhi, a mountain *Malla Municipality *Malla Qullu, a mountain ;India * Mallapuram, Tamil Nadu *Malla (tribe), an ancient republic, one of the sixte ...

'' (2004) began a new chapter in his career. He started his company Eswari Audio later to be known as Eswari Entertainments. He was also awarded as the Best Musical Director on the state level. He not only brought the trend of Big-Budget Movies to Kannada cinema but also brought in Digital Grading technology. He started selling music cassettes through cable operators to beat piracy. Ravichandran was also seen on television as a judge in Dancing-star season-2 on Colors Kannada. His most recent successes were ''

Maanikya ''Maanikya'' () is a 2014 Indian Kannada-language action drama film directed by Sudeepa featuring himself, V. Ravichandran, Ranya Rao, Ramya Krishna, Varalaxmi Sharathkumar and P. Ravi Shankar in the lead roles. The film is a remake of 2013 Te ...

'' (2014), ''

Drishya ''Drishya'' () is a 2014 Indian Kannada-language crime thriller film directed by P. Vasu and produced by E4 Entertainment, starring V. Ravichandran and Navya Nair. It is a remake of the 2013 Malayalam-language film ''Drishyam'', directed by Jeet ...

'' (2014) and ''

Hebbuli ''Hebbuli'' () is a 2017 Kannada-language action thriller film directed by S. Krishna The film stars Sudeep and V. Ravichandran, who teamed up for the second time after ''Maanikya'' (2014). Amala Paul made her debut in Kannada cinema. P. Ravi ...

'' (2017). In 2019, Ravichandran played the role of

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...

in ''

Kurukshetra Kurukshetra (, ) is a city and administrative headquarter of Kurukshetra district in the Indian state of Haryana. It is also known as Dharmakshetra ("Realm of duty ") and as the "Land of the Bhagavad Gita". Legends According to the Pura ...

''. This was the first mythological film in his career.

Filmography

As Actor

As Director and Writer

Awards

Cinema Express Awards * Cinema Express Award For Best Debut Director -

- 1987 * Cinema Express Award For Best Actor -

- 1987 * Cinema Express Award For Best Director -

Ranadheera ''Ranadheera'' ( kn, ರಣಧೀರ) is a 1988 Indian Kannada language musical action film starring Ravichandran and Khushbu. Directed by Ravichandran himself, the film was produced by his father N. Veeraswamy under Eshwari Productions. Kushbo ...

- 1989 Karnataka State Film Awards *

Karnataka State Film Award (Special Jury Award) This is the list of Winners of Jury's Special Award See also * Karnataka State Film Awards References {{Karnataka State Film Awards Karnataka State Film Awards 1977 establishments in Karnataka ...

– ''

'' *

Karnataka State Film Award Karnataka State Film Awards are the most notable and prestigious film awards given for Kannada film industry in Karnataka, India. These are considered the highest awards for Kannada language films. They are given annually by the Government ...

for Best Actor – ''

'' (2001–02) *

for Best Director for ''Ekangi'' (2001–02) *

for Best Music Director for ''Ekangi'' (2001–02) *

Puttanna Kanagal Award The following is the list of Award winners for the Karnataka State Puttanna Kanagal award. Kanagal was among the front runners in Kannada cinema's most successful film directors. In his memory and honor, this award is presented to the directors ...

for Lifetime Achievement (2005–06) Other Awards * Suvarna Film Awards for Lifetime Achievement * Rajyotsava Awards (2010) * Udaya Film Award for Best Supporting Actor – ''

Aham Premasmi ''Aham Premasmi'' is a 2005 Indian Kannada-language romance film directed by V. Ravichandran. The film stars his brother Balaji and Aarti Chhabria. Besides acting, V. Ravichandran has written, produced, edited and composed music for the film. C ...

'' * NTR National Award-2013 * Honorary Doctorate From CMR University - 2019 *Honorary Doctorate From

Bangalore university Bangalore University (BU) is a public state university located in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. The university is a part of the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) and affiliated by Univers ...

- 2022

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ravichandran, V. Living people 20th-century Indian male actors 21st-century Indian male actors Indian male film actors Male actors in Kannada cinema Kannada film score composers Kannada film directors Male actors from Bangalore Kannada film producers Kannada male actors Kannada-language lyricists Indian male songwriters 20th-century Indian composers 21st-century Indian composers Musicians from Bangalore Film producers from Bangalore Male actors in Tamil cinema Tamil film directors Film directors from Bangalore Recipients of the Rajyotsava Award 2010 Male film score composers 20th-century male musicians 21st-century male musicians 1961 births