Kannada actors who moved from small screen to big screen

Although fans have always appreciated the work that their favourite superstars have done, they seldom take note of the struggle behind their success. Some of the stars who are famous now started their career from small screen. With a lot of hardwork and struggle they gradually built their careers. Here we take a look at a few actors who started their career from the small screen and made their way up to the big screen.

The actor who popularly goes by the name ‘Yash’ is originally named as ‘Naveen Kumar Gowda’ in the Kannada film industry. The actor might today be counted from among the top actors of the industry, however, very few know that he started his career from theatre to small screen and finally made his way up the silver screen.

Soon after the completion of his studies, Yash joined Benaka Drama Company formed by B V Karanth. Yash started his acting career with TV serials like ‘Malebillu’ and 'Preeti Illada Mele’. He debuted on the big screen with ‘Jambhada Hudugi’ where he played a small role. Later, he played a supporting role in a movie ‘Moggina Manasu’ which got him Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Role. His first movie in lead role was ‘Rocky’, and then there was no looking back for the actor. He has films like ‘Gokula’, ‘Googly’, ‘Mr. and Mrs. Ramachari’, ‘Santhu Straight’, ‘Forward’, ‘Kirik Party’ and many others to his credit. Yash today is reportedly one of the highest paid actors in Kannada film industry.

Radhika Pandit is one of the popular and most vouched for actresses in Kannada film industry. She too started her career from a TV serial ‘Nandagokula’ and in the same year, she was selected for another serial ‘Sumangali’ where she earned her fan following. She was spotted by director Shashank who offered her a lead role in his both of his films ‘18th Cross’ and ‘Moggina Manasa’. She started her big screen debut with the movie ‘18th Cross’ and she won Karnataka State Film Award for Best Actress and Filmfare Award for Best Actress for her second movie ‘Moggina Manasa’. She has films like ‘Krishnan Love Story’, ‘Gaana Bajaana, Hudugaru’, ‘Mr. and Mrs. Ramachari’, ‘Santhu Straight Forward’ and others to her credit.

Ramesh is not only an actor but also a director, television presenter who has acted in Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, and Hindi movies. Ramesh started his career as a host in a Kannada television industry and later started his big screen career by doing a supporting role in the movie ‘Mouna Geethe’. His first debut movie was ‘Sundara Swapnagalu’ which was directed by K. Balachander. His first directional debut was ‘Rama Shama Bhama’ which featured Kamal Haasan and later he directed and acted in many movies in different languages. Ramesh also hosted TV shows like ‘Preetyinda Ramesh’, ‘Weekend with Ramesh’ and ‘Kannadada Kotyadhipathi Season 3’. He is not only an actor and director but also a motivational speaker.

‘Mungaru Male’ Ganesh started his small screen career by doing various TV series, and later he hosted a comedy show named ‘Comedy Time’ which became popular and director B. Suresha approached him for the role of a villain character for his film ‘Tapori’. He continued acting in supporting roles in various films. Although his proper first debut movie was ‘Chellata’, the one who gained him fame was ‘Mungaru Male’. He today has films like ‘Hudugaata’, ‘Gaalipata’, ‘Bombaat’, ‘Shyloo’, ‘Mungaru Male 2’, ‘Chamak’ and others to his credit. Today, he is one of the superstars in the Kannada film industry.

Popularly known as Rachita Ram, her original name is Bindhiya Ram. A classical Bharatanatyam dancer, she started her career with a TV serial named ‘Benkiyalli Aralida Hoovu’. Her first debut movie was ‘Bulbul’ which got her Filmfare Awards for Best Actress.